Alaska Deer Population: About 290,000 sitka blacktail deer in 2023. After a harsh 2021-22 a rough estimate of 286,000 in 2022, down from 319,000 in 2021, 292,000 deer in 2020, and 384,000 in 2016 - the recent high. Estimates are based on an average range provided by the state and adjusted for year to year fluctuations due to weather and based on hunting based. Mild winters from 2012 to 2019 allowed populations to increase, a very mild winter for 2015-16.
Alaska Deer News
Thermal drones help biologists dart deer March 24, 2025 Alaska, The Wildlife Society
... . “As soon as we started doing that, our whole operation changed,” Finnegan said. Suddenly, they could see that deer were all around them—the thick vegetation found on much of the island just hid them. “There were a lot more animals near us than we realized,” ...
Wolf Management Report and Plan, Game
Management Unit 1B 2025 Alaska Department of Fish and Game
... Because of the relatively short water crossing involved, population interchange between wolves on portions of the Unit 1B mainland and the adjacent Unit 3 islands probably occurs on a regular basis. In an effort to reduce wolf populations and increase deer numbers, government wolf control programs and bounties were implemented until the 1970s. Conversations with trappers, hunters, pilots, and other biologists, along with information from trapper questionnaires, indicated the wolf population increased during the 1990s in response to increases in deer numbers...
Iconic pet reindeer in Alaska falls mysteriously ill after someone tampers in his pen March 13, 2025 ABC News
... In early January, someone cut a huge hole in the fencing to gain entrance, spending about five minutes inside with Star before taking off... The next night ... a man wearing a scarf over his face sprayed something from two different cans into Star’s pen and twice hit the reindeer in the face with an unknown substance...
New shelters for Sitka Black-Tailed Deer underway at Alaska Wildlife Conservation February 14, 2025 Alaska, Your Alaska Link
... following the destruction of the original shelter during a wild windstorm last month... keeping the deer dry and shaded in Alaska's harsh weather...
Migration memory: How caribou adapt to changing winter conditions February 6, 2025 Alaska Native News
... research shows that caribou will optimize their migration path based on their collective memories... When they wintered north of the same river, they were more likely to survive when there was more snow and less wind. The caribou decided whether to cross the river each year as an adaptive measure to maximize their chances of survival...
Wildlife Conservation Center raises 30,000 bucks to rebuild deer shelter January 10, 2025 Alaska Public Media
... The Sitka black-tailed deer shelter was demolished by a windstorm that swept through much of Southcentral Alaska Monday ... There are five deer at the center, and they’re known as the friendliest animals at the facility...
“They're built to handle sleighs:” A scientific look at Santa's reindeer December 24, 2024 Alaska, KTUU
... Reindeer stand out from other deer species: They have the largest and heaviest antlers of all deer species and have hair completely covering their nose... “That’s really beneficial for when they’re out there in the cold, especially when they’re in high altitudes, flying through the air,” ...
The Restoration of Sitka Blacktail Deer Habitat: Part 1 December 4, 2024 Alaska, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
... On Prince of Wales Island, the deer population has dropped significantly during the last few decades. The population is predicted to continue on a negative trend ... Much of the best winter habitat for deer, the large old growth that protect animals from deep snows, has been clear-cut..
The Restoration of Sitka Blacktail Deer Habitat in Southeast Alaska: Part 2 December 10, 2024 Alaska, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
... “The past 40 years of slash has not been treated. There’s slash that’s 12 feet deep and it’s a huge barrier to wildlife movement and forage. Wildlife treatment’s emphasis is to get slash as close as possible to the ground so it deteriorates faster and grows forage. You have to go slower and you end up cutting corridors for wildlife. It’s all about enhancing habitat...
Wildlife experts looks for new ways to count wolves in Alaska November 10, 2024 KMUW
... This spring, on the outskirts of the main town on Prince of Wales Island, a dog named Barley was sniffing for wolf poop. He wore a bell, and when he found some, he lay down...By collecting wolf scat, managers hope to get more DNA samples and a better sense of where the wolves spend time ...
The impact of seasonal cattle grazing on ungulate spatiotemporal behavior in a multiuse recreational area in central Alberta - PloS one, 2024
... we examined Roosevelt elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti) spatiotemporal behavior responses to brown bear (Ursus arctos) habitat use on Afognak and Raspberry islands, Alaska ... Elk behavioral response to risk of brown bear predation could increase energy expenditure and decrease their ability to acquire forage, therefore negatively impacting survival and reproduction with spatiotemporal variation in risk response potentially amplifying these impacts...
ADFG On Hunters Preventing Spread Of Chronic Wasting Disease September 18, 2024 Alaska Sporting Journal
... “CWD has not been detected in Alaska, but our caribou, moose, deer, elk and reindeer are at risk. Proper carcass transport and disposal will keep infectious prions out of our state and help to keep our herds healthy, as well as those in other states.” Regulations prohibit the transport of “at risk” materials through Canada and into Alaska. No whole carcasses ...
Moose Management Report and Plan, Game Management Unit 20A 2024 Alaska Department of Fish and Game
... The 2019 Unit 20A population estimate of 11,770 (after applying a SCF) moose falls within the IM population objective of 10,000–15,000 moose. All completed surveys in the past 10 years (RY10–RY19) have also been within the IM population objective. Similarly, the bull-to-cow ratio has also been above the current management objective of 25 bulls:100 cows over that same period...
The US is killing bears in Alaska to save the rare species of deer June 27, 2025 Alaska, KOHA.net
... it is said that the killing of the bears that feed on the newborn deer is the last attempt to support the caribou species. Once the presence of this type of deer was 200.000, today it is estimated to be around 13.000.. in Southwest Alaska ....
Watch: Baby moose trapped in Alaska lake saved by man and police as worried mom June 20, 2024 WTAJ Altoona on MSN
... An Alaska man and two police officers rescued a baby moose from what police described as “a sure demise” after it fell into a lake and got stuck in a narrow space between a floatplane and a dock...
Alaska moose kills man trying to photograph its newborn calves May 21, 2024 BBC
... His son said he realised the moose was protecting its offspring and did not want the animal killed...
Moose attack in Alaska kills man, prompting investigation May 20, 2024 Alaska, USA Today on MSN
... A cow moose ... charged two men, kicking one of them ... The animals generally do not attack people unless they feel threatened ...
Hunters and states snubbed: Peltola sides with feds by voting against bill to delist gray wolf May 14, 2024 Alaska, Must Read Alaska
... House Resolution 764 ...gives individual states and their wildlife management agencies the right to manage gray wolf populations within their borders... Alaska is home to an estimated 7,000-11,000 wolves and is the only state in which wolves were never included on the Endangered Species List...
Federal Subsistence Board approves changes to subsistence hunting and trapping regulations April 11, 2024 Alaska, DOI.gov
... They delegated additional authority to the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge Manager to set the number of permits available by community for the Nushagak Peninsula caribou hunt in Units 17A and 17C...
Question on protecting or not protecting Kodiak Island's antlerless deer to be decided by Federal Subsistence Board March 20, 2024 Alaska, KMXT
... During this month’s Kodiak/Aleutians Subsistence Regional Advisory Council meeting on March 8, the ten-member group reiterated its position from last year that antlerless deer, like a doe or fawns, should not be hunted. As member Patrick Holmes summed up, the council says the Sitka Black-tailed deer population on the island needs certain protections...
Alaska Fish & Game to Reduce Caribou Tags Amid Continued Herd Decline February 22, 2024 Field & Stream
... The latest estimates, based on photographic aerial surveys, put the herd at approximately 152,000 animals. At its 2003 peak, it was nearly 500,000 caribou strong. Herd numbers have swung widely over the last 50 years, hitting a low of 75,000 caribou in 1976, then rebounding after hunting restrictions were put in place ...
In an era of climate change, Alaska's predators fall prey to politics January 10, 2024 Alaska, Grist
... Looking at data collected since 2003, he [Tom Paragi, a wildlife biologist for the state Department of Fish and Game] notes that when Alaska culled wolves in four areas in a bid to bolster moose, caribou, and deer populations, their numbers increased. They also remained low in those areas where wolves were left alone..,
Federal Agency Lawfully Approved Emergency Alaska Moose Hunt November 6, 2023 Bloomberg Law News
... The Federal Subsistence Board didn’t exceed its authority when it opened an emergency moose and deer hunt for a Native Alaskan Village during the Covid-19 pandemic, a federal judge ruled, holding that the action was a reasonable response to food security concerns...
Watch: Troopers rescue 2 deer 'on their last leg' in freezing Alaskan waters October 18, 2023 Alaska, USA TODAY
... The deer were about 4 miles offshore before the troopers pulled them to the safety of the boat ... “The deer quickly swam over to the troopers ..." Video
Southeast Alaska wolves are not threatened or endangered, federal agency concludes August 23, 2023 Alaska Public Media
... U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has again rejected a request to list Southeast Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago wolves as endangered or threatened... Those wolves roam among the island’s old-growth forests and hunt Sitka blacktail deer between logging parcels...
Gray wolves turn to new food source after killing off deer in Pleasant Island, Alaska July 9, 2023 Alaska, Democrat and Chronicle
... The wolf population has remained relatively stable on the high side while the deer population has suffered from severe winter conditions and over-harvesting by the wolves... Sea otters ... become the primary food source ...
One of the Largest Caribou Herds in Alaska Is Careening Toward Extinction June 26, 2023 Sierra Club
... In the past three decades, the Mulchatna caribou herd of southwestern Alaska has gone from nearly 200,000 to 12,000 ... a group of state biologists were commissioned to study the vanishing herd. They found that the most salient reasons for the decline are disease and poor body condition, which can be attributed to a lack of food. Brucellosis, a close relative of mad cow disease, is a naturally occurring disease that causes lameness, infertility, and lower birth rates. Caribou can withstand low infection levels, but wildlife officials found that over a third of the tested animals had brucellosis..,
Rabid moose found 'stumbling, drooling profusely' is 1st case ever recorded in Alaska June 12, 2023 Live Science
... Scientists have confirmed the first ever case of rabies in an Alaska moose after a diseased animal stumbled into a small community and charged at residents while "drooling profusely." ...
Fort St. James hunting: B.C. man fined $3K for poaching May 17, 2023 Alaska, Alaska Highway News
... Officers responded to a private field near Fort St. James and found two dead whitetail deer carcasses with gunshot wounds...
Why is a moose's nose so big? May 13, 2023 Alaska, Anchorage Daily News
,,, When a moose dips its head under water, the difference between the water pressure and the air pressure causes the nostrils to close, Witmer said. This adaptation, perhaps the main reason a moose’s nose is so long, allows a moose to feed underwater without water flooding into its nose ..,
Like the Taste of Reindeer Meat? Some Alaskans Made a Fortune From It March 24, 2023 Alaska, HistoryNet
... By century’s end commercial hunting had depleted whale, walrus and caribou populations on the peninsula, and starvation haunted the local Iñupiat, an ethnic group closely related to Canada’s Inuit. Believing “God blesses aggressiveness,” the Rev. Sheldon Jackson, a Presbyterian minister, missionary and Alaska’s general agent of education, repeatedly sailed to Siberia in 1892 and imported 171 reindeer to feed the Iñupiat and provide them with livelihoods...
Despite hunter concerns, sport limit for deer to remain at six for Southeast's 'ABC Islands' January 26, 2023 Alaska, KCAW
... deer populations have rebounded to near carrying capacity for the three major islands comprising the unit – Admiralty, Baranof, and Chichagof, which are often called the “ABC Islands.” This is a change from 2006 through 2008, when harsh winters, with especially high snowfalls, dramatically affected deer populations. Fish & Game beach surveys in the spring of 2007 recorded roughly 4 winterkill deer carcasses per mile of shoreline ...
Wolves eliminate deer on Alaskan island, quickly shift to eating sea otters, OSU researchers find January 23, 2023 Alaska, KTVZ
... in 2015 deer were the primary food of the wolves, representing 75% of their diet, while sea otters comprised 25%. By 2017, wolves transitioned to primarily consuming sea otters (57% of their diet) while the frequency of deer declined to 7%... Shortly after wolves colonized Pleasant Island in 2013, the deer population on the island plummeted. With the wolves having consumed most of the deer ...
Killing wolves and bears over nearly 4 decades did not improve moose hunting, study says November 23, 2022 Alaska, Anchorage Daily News
... The study, by retired Alaska Department of Fish and Game and University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers ... The researchers ... set out with the hypothesis that killing predators improved moose hunts in Game Management Unit 13 between 1973 and 2020. They found the opposite...
Preliminary announcement of a month-long wolf harvest sparks outcry from trappers November 4, 2022, Alaska, KTOO
... The department wants to keep the island’s wolf population somewhere between 150 and 200 animals. Based on data from last fall, Fish and Game thinks there’s more than 230 on the island. That’s lower than the 2020 estimate of 386, and the 2019 estimate of 316... "I really think that’s what you need to focus on is the ungulate population in Southeast in general,” ... Other trappers spoke about a declining deer population ...
Alaska Deer Archive: Population and Management, Deer in the News, Disease, Transportation
Data: From 2015 to 2022 the state has provided a target population range of 333,000 to 346,000 for the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), dropping the range to 326,200 – 335,200 in 2023 and 2024. Harvest data and this historical analysis indicates wide variations in year to year populations based primarily on weather severity. To capture these variations, hunting data was combined with the WAFWA target deer population range to create the population estimates below.
Data and analysis for the chart. Hunting data from the Alaska DNR
A 2024 report indicated a negative impact on deer, moose, and caribou from predator's. In 2024 the caribou population was estimated at 152,000, down from 2003 peak of 500,000, but up from a 1976 low of 75,000. Tags for caribou have been reduced to support the herd. Another 2024 report finds that clear-cutting of old growht forest on Prince of Wales Island has contributed to the decline of the Sitka Blacktail deer population.
A harsh winter in 2021-22. In the 2021 WAFWA report, the state commented "Both Southeast and Southcentral experienced average to below average winter severity from 2012-2019. The winter 2015-2016 was one of the mildest on record, which resulted in increased hunter effort and harvest. These series of mild to average winters allowed deer populations to recover and hunters reported deer to be in good body condition. The 2019-2020 winter severity was average in Southeast Alaska, but high in Southcentral Alaska, where managers estimated 60-70% mortality in some areas of the Kodiak Archipelago. Winter severity in 2020-2021 was average across both Southeast and Southcentral Alaska, allowing deer to recover."
By 2019, the deer around Prince William Sound fully recovered from the severe winter of 2011-12. Mild winters into 2017 and 2016 supported deer populations. Mule deer sightings in 2019 and 2017 raised the concern that they would be accompanied by winter ticks and other pathogens that can be deadly to caribou and moose. Mule deer are not native but sightings have been reported since the 1970s. A 2018 study found that "Since the mid-1990s, the size of reindeer and caribou herds has declined by 56 percent... from an estimated 4.7 million animals to 2.1 million, a loss of 2.6 million." A 2016 study predicts a deer abundance will decline from 10−37% after 30 years.
Deer pellet counts in 2015 were higher than 2014 but still near the lows from around 2000. Deer populations on some islands were half of what they had been a decade ago. In 2015, 29 reindeer arrived in early June to the Alaska Peninsula village of Port Heiden, where the community is reviving a long-dormant tradition of reindeer herding. A 2014 population estimate of 200,000 deer in the Southeast. In 2014 a coalition successfully sued to stop some projects in the Tongass National Forest. "The logging plans did not take into account that these areas are already struggling to sustain a high enough deer population to allow timber sales." Does were 24.4% of the 2013 harvest.
According to the 2013 Deer Management Report [PDF] "As clearcut logging continues to reduce old-growth habitat in portions of the unit (Unit 1A), many previously logged stands no longer support deer, the local deer populations are expected to decline. Population models predict declines in deer carrying capacity of 50-60% by the end of the logging rotation in 2054." This estimate is based on changes on old growth habitat which provide for deer during winters with heavy snow. However, the climate is rapidly warming in Alaska as evidenced by sightings of non-native mule and whitetail deer. The estimated population trend is up with the warmer climate a likely contributing cause.
A brutal winter in 2011-12 reduced deer populations, reflected in the reduced number of deer taken during the hunt in 2012. The populations took several years to recover. Between 1987 and 2007 the harvest averaged about 12,330. Harsh winters from 2006 to 2009 reduced the population and the deer kill from 2007 to 2010. Deer populations declined in some areas from the severe winters of 2011-12, 2006-07, and 2007-08, and to a lesser degree, 2014 and 2008-09.
A hard winter in 1998-99 reduced populations in some areas by more than half.
Deer in Alaska are primarily Sitka black-tailed, but some mule deer have recently migrated into the state as a result of warmer weather.
History: Sitka black-tail deer began to wander north to Southeast Alaska at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, as glaciers receded. Sitka black-tailed deer, related to mule deer, were originally found only in Southeast Alaska.
Translocation of deer near Cordova: Starting in 1916 Sitka blacktail deer were successfully translocated by the Cordova Chamber of Commerce into Unit 6 in the southeast with at least 24 released on the islands of Hawkins and Hinchinbrook. Legal deer hunting began in 1935. The population peaked in 1945, with diminished habitat. The annual deer kill from hunting ranged between 500 and 1,500 prior to 1979.
A long term population upward trend started in 1978 with 3,000 deer taken in the hunt by 1987. The average kill in the 1990s was 2,160 deer, ranging from 1,300 to 3,000 deer; in the 2000s was 2,460, ranging from 1,400 to 3,500. The population trend turned over in the 2010s with an average kill of 1,900 deer, ranging from 618 to 3,084.
Translocation of Reindeer to St. Matthews Island: In 1944, 29 reindeer were introduced to St. Matthew, an island covered with a thick mat of lichens. With this abundance of high quality forage, the herd increased dramatically, and by the summer of 1963 there were 6000 reindeer on the island. After a bad winter, there were less than 50 reindeer alive the next spring. The size of the herd had resulted in a change in forage, from lichens to more sedges and grasses offering less nutrition.
Graph Below from the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
The 1998 - 2000 Deer Management Report provides harvest data and population trend analysis for 1984 to 1999.
Chronic Wasting Disease. A 2016 study determined that Reindeer were susceptible to chronic wasting disease regardless of source species.
In 2006 about 400,000 caribou and 130,000 to 160,000
Moose. A 2018 study found that "Since the mid-1990s, the size of reindeer and caribou herds has declined by 56 percent... from an estimated 4.7 million animals to 2.1 million, a loss of 2.6 million." A 2017 report finds wide fluctuations in moose populations based on winter severity. A 2023 article reports that the caribou herd of southwestern Alaska has decline from 200,000 to 12,000 over the past three decades.
Wolves have been in Southeast Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago for 12,000 years. In 1960 biologiests decided to release wolves on Coronation Island where the was a high density of blacktailed deer and no wolves. By 1965 there was no sign of deer on the north side of the island. By 1966 they found only three wolves and wolf scats indicating the animals had resorted to cannibalism. In 1983 they found no evidence of wolves, but the deer were once again plentiful.
Mountain Lions are rare in Alaska, but there were three sightings reported in 2019.
