Connecticut Deer: A state estimate of about 107,000 deer in 2022, down from about 114,000 in 2021 and 124,000 in 2020. A rough estimate from the state put the deer population at about 100,000 in early 2016 and mid-2017, but an analysis by a private group puts the number at 50,000 in 2016. Another state expert notes that the population has plunged. Mild winters and abundant acorn crops in 2016-17 and 2015-16 have benefited the deer herd with the population increasing into 2017. A peak populaton of about 152,000 the early 2000s.
Connecticut Deer News
Recent deer-versus-car crashes in Connecticut prompt alerts from police, wildlife biologists June 16, 2024 CT Insider
... Between 6,000 to 7,000 deer have been killed on state roadways annually in recent years, a significant drop from the mid-1990s, when the annual estimate was about 18,000, state wildlife biologist Andrew LaBonte said..,
Granby officer helps reunite abandoned fawn with mother, police say June 2, 3035 Connecticut, New Haven Register
... the fawn was struggling with labored breathing and was cold to the touch, prompting her to wrap the animal with blankets and stimulate it to help it breathe... the mother deer came back ...
Windsor Locks residents upset with CT officials for euthanizing moose March 6, 2024 Connecticut, CT Insider
... there was "clearly enough time for DEEP to get an action plan to relocate this moose. ... I'm pretty (ticked) off. That moose didn't do anything...
Moose euthanized in Windsor Locks after it wanders too close to highway February 26, 2024 Connecticut, Fox 61
... a report of a moose within 20 feet of Interstate 91 southbound and the Route 20 exit ramp in Windsor Locks. DEEP consulted with other law enforcement agencies and euthanized the animal ...
Devil's Den In Weston To Close Weekdays During Limited Deer Hunt October 26, 2023 Connecticut, Patch
... The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has announced that it will hold its annual controlled deer hunt at Devil’s Den Preserve ... has been held each fall since 2001 ...
Deer may be forced to wander CT in search of food, after spring freeze causes fall acorn shortage September 29, 2023 Connecticut Public Radio
... The majority of the state is experiencing an acorn crop failure, said J.P. Barsky, a forest researcher for the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station ...
State Farm report shows how often CT drivers hit deer, other animals with their cars September 18, 2023 Connecticut, SFGate
... In the 2022-23 fiscal year that ended on June 30, about 10,000 car versus animal collisions were reported in the state ... a relatively low chance of colliding with a deer or other animal compared with other states in New England and across the nation ...
Connecticut saw a significant increase in deer hunting last year August 4, 2023 Houston Chronicle
... Connecticut's whitetail deer population peaked at about 152,000 in the early 2000s and steadily declined to about 110,000 [in 2022], DEEP reported ... Hunters legally killed 10,433 deer in Connecticut last year, a 16.4 percent increase over 2021, and they spent about $1 million more on hunting gear .., read the full report
Acceptability of 4-poster deer treatment devices for community-wide tick control among residents of high Lyme disease incidence counties in Connecticut and New York, USA - Ticks and Tick-born Diseases, 2023
... to understand perceptions and experiences related to tickborne diseases, support or concerns for placement of 4-poster devices in their community, and opinions on which entities should be responsible for tick control on private properties. Overall, 37% of 1652 respondents (5.5% response rate) would support placement of a 4-poster device on their own property, 71% would support placement on other private land in their community, and 90% would support placement on public land...
Ivermectin May Be Good for Humans After All—Indirectly July 27, 2023 Connecticut, Mother Jones
... In a small study, they found that feeding deer corn dosed with an ivermectin derivative builds up enough drug in their blood that ticks biting them will (probably) die... “This was a proof-of-concept study,” says lead author Scott Williams, a wildlife ecologist and chief scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven...
Environmental officials kill moose after it wanders onto Connecticut airport, didn't reach runway June 11, 2023, SCNOW
... The moose was spotted Friday morning wandering along a road at Bradley International Airport. Officials decided to put the animal down, citing safety concerns ...
Explaining the CT moose population and why this has become a dangerous time of year for them May 20, 2023 Connecticut, StamfordAdvocate
... Between 100-150 moose reside in the state, the vast majority of them concentrated in the northwest corner. Of the 50-or-so moose-vehicle crashes since 1995, 12 have occurred in or around Hartland ..."That's because we have the most moose in the state in that town," said Andrew Labonte, DEEP wildlife biologist...
Second Moose Killed In Crash On CT Highway May 19, 2023 Connecticut, Daily Voice Fairfield County
... A second moose has been hit and killed in Connecticut by a vehicle on the same day... Connecticut’s moose population is small (about 100 individuals) ..,
Moose fatally struck by vehicle on Rt. 15 in North Haven May 17, 2023 Connecticut, WTNH
... A moose was hit and killed by a car on Route 15 Northbound in North Haven Wednesday morning ...
After mild winter, Connecticut seeing more wildlife — including moose April 15, 2023 Yahoo!News
... “Though Connecticut’s moose population is small (about 100 individuals), moose can pose a serious threat to public safety if they wander onto roadways,” the DEEP news release states..,
Moose spotted: DEEP urges caution among drivers in East Granby
April 13, 2023 Connecticut, WTNH.com
... a moose was spotted in the area of Route 20 ... While the moose population is small across Connecticut, they can pose a serious threat to public safety if they wander onto roads ...
Resilience of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to human hunting in precolonial New England: The faunal remains from the Morgan Site (6HT120), Rocky Hill Connecticut, EM Weitzel - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2023
... I analyze a zooarchaeological assemblage from the Morgan Site in central Connecticut, dating to the 11th-14th centuries AD, to evaluate whether deer populations at this time experienced any perceptible hunting pressure. These data suggest that deer at the Morgan Site were not being overhunted. Fragmentation of deer skeletal elements for grease and marrow is consistent with intensive exploitation, but the strong dietary dependence on a highly preferred species like deer, evidence for hunting deer in proximity to the site, and minimal juvenile mortality all indicate that deer were not overexploited. Additionally, most of these deer were especially large-bodied. Given the evidence for a lack of hunting pressure, the large body size of deer observed here may have resulted from anthropogenic ecosystem engineering facilitating deer population growth and contributing to the apparent resilience of the species to predation..,
Connecticut's depleted acorn crop will have wide reaching impact November 13, 2022 NHPR
... Connecticut is suffering from a widespread acorn crop failure... A low acorn crop means deer may wander more in search of something to eat... Those seeking a deer harvest are more likely to have a successful season when acorn supplies are low because deer can’t hunker down and hide..,
Connecticut Deer Archive: Population and Management, Deer in the News, Disease, Suburban Management, Transportation.
Connecticut Data: A state estimate reported in 2022 of about 107,000 in 2022 based a graph published in the 2022 deer program report [see Data and Calculations for the graph below] with the recent population in the 110,000 range. with a 16.4 percent increase in the deer hunt from 2021 to 2022.
The state estimated the deer population at about 101,000 for 2019 through 2021, but that estimate has been raised somewhat to about 114,000 for 2022 and 124,000 for 2020 based on their most recent deer report. The big drop in the 2021 archery hunt was attributed to weather and a good acorn crop. The deer kill has been trending slightly lower over the period. In 2022 an abysmal acorn crop will reduce the population, but will increase the number of deer killed by hunters. The 2018 population benefited from recent mild winters, but faced a lower acorn crop.
Population Estimates Below Based on the Connecticut DEP 2021 Deer Program Report
The graph above uses a population reconstruction model to estimate the deer population from 2011 to 2022. The graph is in the 2022 deer program report and provides slightly higher estimates than statements to the press linked on this page. For 1975 to 2010 the graphic in the report gives selected year population estimates. Other population estimates were added using hunting data and linear trends for 1975 to 1990. This estimate puts the maximum deer population at 152,000 in the early 2000s. The number of deer killed annually by vehicle collisions in the years prior to 2024 has been around 6,000 to 7,000 deer, a significant drop from the mid-1990s, when the annual estimate was about 18,000.
Mild winters and abundant acorn crops in 2016-17 and 2015-16 benefited the deer herd. 2020 Deer Summary A a rough estimate from the state in early 2016 and mid 2017 of about 100,000. A state estimate of 126,000 deer in 2006 .
A hunting group observes that Connecticut had 62,189 deer (per statewide aerial deer survey) in 2007; since then Connecticut has seen a decline in the deer population and harvest of approximately 20%; leaving Connecticut with an estimated 50,000 deer or 10 dpsm in 2016. The lower estimate is more consistent with the decline in reported deer vehicle collisions from about a decade ago. DVC s (deer vehicle collisions) in Connecticut in 2000 were 3,089 and in 2015 there were 749; a decrease of 76% over 15 years. The 2015 harvest was 66.2% percent of the peak in 2004. The increase in the 2016 harvest is attributed to a poor acorn crop that forced deer to more around more as well as several mild winters increasing fawn survival.
The record acorn crop in 2015 reduced deer movement and contributed to the lower harvest, but the legalization of Sunday hunting increased the number of hunting days which would increase the harvest. Hunters reported reduced deer in 2015. A 2015 study put the 90-day fawn survival rate at 0.22, down from 0.66 and 0.40 in the previous three years, related to the increase in predators. The last official State estimate was 126,000 in 2006; yet the last State aerial survey showed only 62,189 deer statewide. Connecticut has made a habit of using the 2X factor on their deer population over the last 15 years to estimate from survey. In 2014, a state expert (Scott Williams) concluded that the deer population has plunged. A population of about 120,000 around 2001. Most deer hunting is on private land.
Because of lower deer populations no antlerless deer tags were issued in 2016 in central parts of Connecticut. Deer populations are highest in the southwest.
Increased predation by coyote and bobcat populations are thought to be the primary factor for the recent deer population decline, the first measured since the early 1900's when deer were very scarce from over hunting and conservation measures were implemented. Fawn recruitment in a 2015 study was 0.22 per doe; the population will decline significantly as a result. Peak of the rut around the last two weeks in November, begins in late October and runs through early January.
An important deer count in the Redding and Newton area related to a Center for Disease Control study became a controversy in 2015 when a local hunting group challenged the DEEP's count and hired an aviation firm that found substantially fewer deer.
The deer harvest declined by 9.2 percent in 2014 to 11,394. Overall hunter success was 23 percent. Most deer are killed on private land. See the 2014 Deer Program report. The number of deer killed in vehicle collisions, which approximately follows in proportion to the deer population, fell by more than half from the early 2000's to 2014. An estimated 3,700 deer killed by vehicles in 2016. In 2014 there were 1,081 deer vehicle collisions reported [page 20].
Historic deer harvest and permits from the DEEP 2021 Deer Program Report
History "Before Europeans arrived in what is today Connecticut, Native Americans cut and burned forestland to grow crops and nurture populations of game. By 1850 ... white-tailed deer and many other common species were scarce, if not extirpated altogether." Unregulated hunting from about 1700 into the early 1900s reduced the herd to just a few deer. More History.
The first statewide deer hunt in recent history was opened in the 1970's. Now, deer densities of 30 per square mile are not uncommon in the state. Hunting data approximately tracks the deer population. In 2014, hunters could take two deer, but only one can be a buck.
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) first reported in the state in 2017, usually found to the south, but a likely result of climate change. Cases identified in 2022.
Moose Estimates of about 100 to 150 moose in 2023. An estimated 210 moose in 2016, about 100 to 150 moose in the state in 2015, mostly in the northeastern and northwestern wooded areas. Estimated at 63 in 2004. The first recent sighting was in 2000.
Coyotes migrated eastward into the state about 70 years ago. In early 2022 an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 coyotes in the state. The eastern coyotes are larger, having some dog and wolf DNA.
Bears An estimated to be nearly 1200 in 2022, up from about 800 in 2017.
Other useful links:
- Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Wildlife News
- Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (also the Connecticut Division of Wildlife and the Connecticut Fisheries Division)