Deer Management News This Week

CWD bill aims to reduce risk to wild deer January 26, 2021 Minnesota, International Falls Journal
... House File 219 ... would:  Allow a licensed deer hunter to kill and possess escaped farmed deer, and other cervidae species, and is not liable to the owner for the loss of the animal... Prohibits transport into Minnesota of carcasses obtained by any means...

A brief demonstration of the Chronic Wasting Disease Testing Results and Surveillance Dashboard. - January 25, 2021 Pennsylvania Game Commission


... The positive test came from an adult buck that was shot in southern Wood County during the 2020 gun deer season ... 

CWD, New study investigates devastating disease in deer January 25, 2021 Georgia, University of Georgia
... Animals severely affected by CWD may walk for miles away from their herd, as if they are disoriented... In some cases, infected animals walk into towns and can be contained and killed. But in the wild, they wander to new herds—potentially spreading the disease to a new population...

... For more than a century, the axis deer that roam Molokai have played an integral role on the island... starving and dying at what locals say is an unprecedented rate. The herds are fleeing their normal pastures, decimated by drought ...

...  The Conservation Fund bought the ranch for $8 million in May 2020... “the land is full of wildlife. It’s been nice and quiet out there for a long time, with birds using the lake, deer everywhere” and signs of all kinds of other creatures...

CWD positive deer confirmed in West Tennessee January 23, 2021 Elk Valley Times
... Lauderdale County has been confirmed as CWD (chronic wasting disease) positive ... The Lauderdale County detection is the farthest northwest detection and the Madison County detection is the farthest northeast from the original detections in Hardeman and Fayette counties in late 2018... 

... they are hoping to create a plan to effectively bring the numbers down without eradicating them since they are considered a vital food source for the Molokai community... severe drought through summer and fall caused hundreds to starve to death ...

Lakeway revisits controversial deer management program January 22, 2021 Texas, Austin American-Statesman 
... According to wildlife biologist Nicholas Kolbe, Lakeway’s deer population is healthy but will probably decrease rather than increase ... the herd composition being 65% female, 17% male and 18% juvenile ... at or close to a maximum carrying capacity for the area; however, he said the risk of the deer population growing beyond current numbers is minimal ...

Behavioral and Demographic Responses of Mule Deer to Energy Development on Winter Range  JM Northrup, CR Anderson Jr, BD Gerber, G Wittemyer - Wildlife Monographs, 2021
... assessed the demographic and behavioral responses of a mule deer population to natural gas development on winter range in the Piceance Basin of Colorado ... The strong reaction to wells in the drilling phase of development suggests mitigation efforts should focus on this activity and stage of development...

... The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission reports for the 2020-2021 season, 556 deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease with another 2,319 tests pending...

Get involved with deer population goal setting January 22, 2021 Minnesota DNR News
... Starting Monday, Feb. 8, you can take an active role in shaping deer population goals in certain areas of the state. This is the second year of a four-year, statewide process, and it focuses on portions of southwest and northeast Minnesota ...

 ... A UC study published today in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution identified a shift in one herd's movements after the 1970s that coincided with changes in herd size and climate, and the construction of new roads and other energy infrastructure...development could disrupt the migration of caribou they depend on for sustenance...

... Prince of Wales residents have testified in hearings that the true wolf population is higher than official estimates. Many blame the canine predators for the deer population falling in a place where venison is an affordable alternative to expensive store-bought meat...

... In nearly two months, the  Texas Game Wardens have released information about finding spoiled deer carcasses at three processing facilities – two in North Texas and one in Poteet just south of San Antonio in Atascosa County ...

... the governor would lower the minimum hunting age for big game (deer, bear) with a firearm from 14 to 12, and expand the use of crossbows “in all big game seasons,” ...

How Wolves Are Driving Down Mountain Lion Populations January 21, 2021 Wyoming, Smithsonian Magazine
... study published in November in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B provided the first evidence that when the two species overlap, wolves have a greater effect on mountain lion populations than hunting by humans and the availability of prey. And the ways scientists say that wolves impact populations? By starving out adults and killing kittens...

... a preliminary total deer harvest for the season of 296,516. Of the deer harvested, 140,468 were antlered bucks, 28,587 were button bucks, and 127,461 were does... a four-percent increase in this year’s total deer harvest over last year’s,” said MDC Cervid Program Supervisor Jason Isabelle. “The increased harvest is largely a reflection of increasing deer numbers throughout much of the state.” ..,

...  illegally harvested a 12-point buck whitetail deer 42 minutes after legal shooting time ... issued a $10,000 civil penalty per statue for the assessed value ...

... the first wild deer has tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) in southern Wood County in the Town of Port Edwards, within ten miles of Juneau and Adams counties. As required by state law, the DNR will renew the baiting and feeding bans in Wood, Juneau and Adams counties..,

Montana lawmakers considering several wolf management bills January 20, 2021 Montana, Helena Independent Record
... “Basically every drainage you go into you find wolves and the packs just keep expanding,” Brown said of the areas he hunts. “With elk and deer numbers, you’re not seeing them up in the hills. You might still see quite a few but they’re pushed down out of the hills and onto private land.” ...

... Wild deer preferred areas closer to tertiary roads and supplementary food sources but farther from permanent water. Ranched deer selected bottomland mixed forest and areas closer to tertiary roads, supplementary food sources, and permanent water. Ranched deer behaviors may increase the likelihood of EHDV vector encounters ...

CWD found in new Wyoming deer hunt area January 20, 2021 Wyoming, County 10
... a positive test from a mule deer buck that was found dead. Deer Hunt Area 138 southeast of Pinedale ...

... Bill would allow use of pneumatic air bows for deer during primitive weapon seasons after Nov. 30... Air bows are legal to use for deer and turkeys in neighboring Alabama...

... It's the city’s first population reduction attempt.  Under an agreement with USDA Wildlife Services, biologists trained in the use of firearms will kill up to 50 deer ...

Legislation to protect Virginia wildlife corridors introduced in State Senate January 19, 2021 Virginia, Augusta Free Press
... More than 60,000 deer-related crashes occur in Virginia each year ... SB 1274 builds on the successful wildlife corridor legislation passed last year that directed the state to produce a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan to identify important wildlife corridors and road crossings...

... Colorado could have to navigate years of pending litigation over the Trump administration’s delisting of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act as it tries to enact its own voter-approved initiative to reintroduce the predator ...

Wildlife advocates discuss top Wyoming issues in 2021 January 17, 2021 Wyoming, KPVI News 6
... Chronic wasting disease ...  has been slowly marching its way west toward the 22 feedgrounds run by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department ... Feedgrounds are controversial on their own — even the state of Montana once wrote Wyoming a letter asking the state to stop artificially feeding elk. Feedgrounds congregate elk, encouraging the spread of disease ...

... Seven sightings in Oklahoma last year of mountain lions ... were determined to be true... more sightings of mountain lions in Oklahoma in 2020 than any other year since the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation started keeping such data in 2002..,

Mystery and history of the gray wolf in Colorado January 16, 2021 Colorado, Vail Daily News
... The gray wolf once roamed freely throughout more than two-thirds of the United States  ... As settlers moved out west, ranches replaced a significant amount of elk and deer habitat. Wherever their main food source was mostly eliminated, wolves turned to livestock. This quickly made wolves the new enemy of the settlers...

Proposed 2021-2022 resident-game seasons January 16, 2021 Louisiana, The Advocate
... the limit remains six deer per season, but you can’t take more than three antlered or four antlerless deer throughout the season in Deer Areas 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9...

State group offers guidance to Mule Deer working group January 16, 2021 Wyoming News
...  the Platte Valley is home to 12,000 mule deer that winter in the valley and move to summer ranges in the Snowy Range, Sierra Madres and foothills of North Park, Colo. The corridor includes public and private lands. The top concern for the corridor is maintaining connectivity between seasonal ranges...

Man allegedly and illegally hauls deer between states January 15, 2021 Oklahoma, Texarkana Gazette
... transported an eight-point white-tailed deer across state lines ...  violations of federal law and in violation of the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Code ...

... Henderson County is now classified as a CWD high-risk county with the confirmation of CWD in a hunter-harvested deer in Madison County within 10 miles of the Henderson County border...

White-tailed deer susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, study finds January 15, 2021 News Medical
... highly susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Moreover, the infected animals are capable of transmitting the virus to their non-infected counterparts via indirect contact... Genomic analysis studies have revealed that SARS-CoV-2 shares high genetic similarities with coronaviruses found in bats ...

...  a wildlife friendly option...  the bottom strand was raised to 18 inches and barbless. It allows pronghorn and young deer and elk to crawl under the fence without injury. They also lowered the top strand to 42-inches and enlarged the distance between it and the second strand to help ensure animals jumping over didn’t get entangled in the strands...

... deer are being killed on this property, by licensed professionals with permission from the church... former hunter Rich Franks... visits his four-legged friends every day at the Archdiocese of Chicago’s St. Casimir Cemetery ...

Wolf management badly needed in Michigan's Upper Peninsula January 15, 2021 Iron Mountain Daily News
... our 2020 deer season in the U.P. was a disaster and will probably go down as one of the worst in history. Our deer herd in the U.P. is in serious decline. Predators — wolves in particular — have decimated our deer herd...

2020 Deer Harvest Results January 15, 2021 Tennessee, Elizabethton.com
... hunters harvested 159,879 deer ... a 26 percent increase from the 2019-2020 season... The year 2020 saw an increase in the population of prey species such as squirrels and rabbits ... predators were getting their food sources from smaller species and not just deer... TWRA’s new rules allowing as many deer as possible to be killed in the Chronic Wasting Disease counties in west Tennessee..,

... By spring or summer, state wildlife officials will start identifying donor populations and locations for reintroduction; slowly begin development of a management plan; and create procedures for settling claims by ranchers, farmers and others who lose livestock to or have property damaged by wolves...

... charged with 139 counts, including illegal hunting and poaching of 60 whitetail and mule deer...  ordered Blick to pay $310,234 in restitution ...

... the juveniles killed or attempted to kill 14 deer over the course of several months ... charges include 143 citations with fines in the case that could reach a minimum of $48,800 to a maximum of $82,000 ...

Topsfield man faces illegal hunting charges in Rowley January 14, 2021 Massachusetts, Eagle-Tribune
... he left heaps of corn on private property to lure deer into his sights ... Massachusetts regulations state that corn and “other natural and artificial substances to attract or entice deer” must be removed within 10 days prior to the start of the deer hunting archery season...

Arkansas hunters set record deer harvest at 214,000+ January 14, 2021 Magnolia Reporter
...  more deer than any season since the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission began keeping harvest records in 1938...  the record-breaking year is not solely the result of new hunters joining the ranks... “I know of several people who harvested (or attempted to harvest) more deer than they normally would ... in 1938. That year, hunters checked only 203 deer, statewide..,

What you need to know about wildlife bills DIF&W is supporting  January 13, 2021 Maine, Bangor Daily News
...LR 98, An Act To Allow the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife To Authorize the Hunting of Antlerless Deer without a Permit in Certain Areas: The DIF&W believes we have far too many deer in some places — mostly along the coast and in York County ...

Texas Game Wardens bust local meat processing plant, discover 80 rotten deer carcasses January 13, 2021 mySanAntonio.com
... Wardens discovered the spoiled deer during a routine compliance inspection at Hooves and Horns meat processing facility in Iowa Park, according to a Tuesday news release from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department...

... wildlife biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, combined GPS location data of tagged mule deer and pronghorn with satellite imagery of fences to find out just how often these animals encounter fences ... seeing such frequent encounters, 40% of which result in a failure to cross, is kind of mind-blowing ...

...  Nearly 1,200 acres of vital elk winter range in northern New Mexico is now permanently protected and opened to public access. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation worked with the Bureau of Land Management and three families to make it happen...

... we try to dissect the pharmacology of methanol extracts (MEs) of velvet antler on Parkinson’s disease ... methanol extracts ... prevented MPTP-induced neuron loss in the substantia nigra and improved the behavioral rotating rod performance in MPTP-treated mice ...

... A recent study showed that antlers have evolved a high rate of growth due to the expression of proto-oncogenes and that they have also evolved to express several tumour suppressor genes to control the risk of cancer. This may explain why deer antler velvet (DAV) extract shows anti-tumour activity...

... Currently, an individual hunter can hold no more than three antlerless licenses ... The new proposal calls for hunters to be allowed to buy an unlimited number of tags statewide through a season, but each hunter can be in possession of no more than four tags at one time...

Hunting groups worried sport is 'under attack' in Washington state January 12, 2021 Washington, Seattle Times
...  Thorburn points to a recently filed lawsuit looking to outlaw spring bear hunting and last year’s ban on coyote-killing contests. In 2019, the WDFW ended a popular antlerless deer hunt in Eastern Washington... Smith said ... the commission needs to start making policy decisions “grounded in sound science,” ...

DNR Confirms CWD Detected In Shawano County January 12, 2021 Wisconsin, DNR
... The CWD-positive deer was an adult doe harvested during the 2020 gun deer season and was tested as part of the department's disease surveillance efforts. This is the first wild deer detection in Shawano County..,

Elected Officials Release Statement on Recent Deer Deaths on Moloka‘i January 12, 2021 Hawaii, Maui Now
... State wildlife officials believe that severe drought conditions on Molokaʻi are to blame for recent instances of deer dying ... in 2019, we introduced HB265 to appropriate funds to the Department of Land and Natural Resources for the management of the axis deer population and substantial reduction of these invasive species,” ...

Four Minnesota Zoo reindeer recover from EHD outbreak; zoo continues to monitor disease levels January 11, 2021 TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
... Four Minnesota Zoo reindeer have recovered from a seasonal disease that struck the entire reindeer population at the zoo in the late summer and early fall of 2020. Four reindeer, though, did die during the epizootic hemorrhagic disease outbreak at the zoo during the fall of 2020...

Montana Wildlife Migration Strategy Helps Big Game and Economy January 11, 2021 The Pew Charitable Trusts
... The strategy focuses resources on mapping, conservation, and public education programs about migrating mule deer, pronghorn, elk, and other big game—species that are vital to hunting and wildlife tourism and help support Montana’s $2.5 billion outdoor economy...

... Penn State researchers suggesting predation is not the only thing in the wild killing fawns... “We think the hormone offers a way to evaluate factors in the environment that affect fawns, such as disease, but are difficult to evaluate when just looking at a carcass that has been picked over by predators,” ...

Princeton puts plans in place to control deer population January 11, 2021 New Jersey, Central Jersey
... White Buffalo’s goal is to kill between 125 and 150 deer between January and March through a combination of sharpshooting or trapping them under nets and euthanizing them after they have been drawn to bait stations...

North Dakota CWD Test Results January 11, 2021 KFGO
... With most chronic wasting disease testing completed, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department reports 18 deer tested positive during the 2020 hunting season..,



The 2020 Deer Hunting Season Forecast August 12, 2020 Outdoor Life

Searching the internet to find and conserve deer information

Deer in the News

... [see video below] Bimbo was never forced into captivity or restrained, even though the family considered him a pet, but he did learn how to go in and out of the home's doggie door by following huskies... they're hearing from a lot of people in the community who have offered to start a petition or fundraising campaign to get the deer back...

YouTube Video


... Conservation Officer ... While he waited to talk to the hunters, Cardenas said he saw a puppy walk into a pole barn on the property and come back out carrying a deer leg in its mouth ...


Deer Squad Goes Global on Nickelodeon Channels January 13, 2021 New York, BusinessWire
... Nickelodeon will premiere CG-animated series Deer Squad in the U.S. following a successful run overseas... The adventure-rescue show follows four, lovable, enthusiastic and heroic deer friends—Kai, Lola, Bobbi and Rammy—who protect the animals of Central Forest and the humans who inhabit Platinum City ...

Deer Freed from Spike Fence - January 13, 2021


... A Kansas game warden rescued two deer tangled together by their antlers from "excruciating death" by shooting a gun and breaking them apart ...

... While it doesn’t technically live on the property, she’s always around, plays with their dogs, goes in the house ...  they arrived on her property and shot the doe ...

  Wildlife Officers Help Deer With Bird Feeder Stuck Around Neck January 11, 2021 Colorado, CBS Local 
... The officer was able to get the deer down and remove the white plastic cylinder ...

Man rescued from icy water after trying to save deer January 5, 2021 Maine, Portland Press Herald
... A Maine Game Warden releases a deer on the shore of Long Lake In Princeton. The deer went through the ice and a local man tried to save it before falling through the ice, too. Both were rescued...


Real Dalmatian Deer - January 6, 2021


Men risk dangerously thin ice to rescue helpless fawn January 2, 2021 Utah, USA Today
... “We walked over nice and slow so we didn’t scare or frighten it any more. I picked up the deer and gently walked it over to the shore and released it.” ...

... He’s been roaming neighborhoods around Lake Natoma since the summer, but rescuers finally tracked him down a few days before Christmas...

The legend of Bella the Deer lives on with her iron statue in downtown Pulaski December 30, 2020 New York, syracuse.com
... The 42-inch iron statue and granite base, dedicated to the village’s celebrated, tame white-tailed deer that captured the hearts of many ... It’s been more than three years since Bella’s disappearance. Up until that point, she fearlessly walked the village streets ...

While driving to work on I-71 between Louisville and La Grange Kentucky my Tesla Model 3 reacted with excellent breaks from 80 mph down to 10 mph. I looked up just in time to see at least 8 points on those amazing antlers. - December 29, 2020


Ishi Wilderness Is a Portal Into the Indigenous History of California December 27, 2020 California, Sierra Magazine
... The Tehama deer—the largest migratory deer herd in California, some 20,000 strong—still find a home there... Ishi was very likely the last uncontacted Indigenous person in North America ... his "surrender" ...  represented the final encounter between intact Paleolithic culture and industrial society on this continent...

Always feels good to help out when possible. A little feel good video to end 2020. - December 26, 2020


Some people consider reindeer and caribou to be the same animal December 25, 2020 Alaska, Journal-Courier
...  the University of Alaska Fairbanks clarifies that these animals are the same species, but different subspecies. Caribous are more migratory animals that travel long distances for winter pasture and back home again for spring calving. Reindeer are much more sedentary animals with their movements staying within an established home area ...

Our 7 orphaned and injured fawns have grown into a unified gang of dashing deer and were released yesterday - just in time to pull Santa’s sleigh! - December 24, 2020


... “I just kind of put my hands on her and started pushing her,” he said. “I could slide her across the ice and just kept going, and got to the shore and she took off.” ...

Watch deer gather in rural Maine in these live webcams December 23, 2020 Maine, Bangor Daily News
... To help sustain a deer herd through winter, Brownville created a deer pantry where hoofed friends can stop by for a snack. With daily feedings at 9 a.m...

... None of the team in the remote community of Kenora had ever undertaken such an operation, so a veterinarian 2,000km away in Ottawa gave detailed instructions over the telephone. The arrow was removed without any bleeding ...


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