Florida Deer: An estimated 570,000 deer in 2021, down from about 650,000 deer in 2017. Hunting data indicates significant declines in 2018 and 2020 with an increase in 2021. An estimated population of 700,000 in 2014 and exceeding 700,000 in 2006. The deer hunt peaked in 2008-09, a significant population decline since 2014. An estimated 45,000 to 50,000 deer in 1951.
Florida Deer News
Florida's Burmese pythons are a bigger problem than originally thought according to study December 26, 2025 Survival World on MSN
...A study ... pythons capable of opening their mouths wider than anyone thought possible..... This unprecedented size allows Bu.mese pythons to consume prey as large as adult deer...
Protecting Key deer: Roadway construction replacing grate that discourages crossings on U.S. Route 1 November 30, 2025 Florida, keysnews.com
... The grates are similar to cattle grates and discourage diminutive Key deer from crossing roadways where the roadway infrastructure is located... They are endangered with a current population of 700 to 800 deer, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission...
This Florida mega-development is turning suburban backyards into a nature paradise November 17, 2025 Fast Company
... “I’m not talking about a single tree next to a retention pond. I mean a deer is going to walk up to you, and you may see bald eagles, all 15 minutes from the Orlando International Airport.” ... A 27,000-acre residential mega-development taking shape outside of Orlando ...
Ron DeSantis reveals plan to kill monster pythons wiping out deer population in Florida October 21, 2025 Florida, Irish Star on MSN
... Florida is ahead of schedule in its efforts to eradicate the invasive Burmese python snake from the Everglades ... public-private collaboration has tripled the amount of python removals. Inversa is a business that kills pythons and uses their skins to manufacture wallets, boots, belts, and other items...
Chronic wasting disease case found in Holmes County deer October 6, 2025 Florida, Yahoo on MSN
... a second case of a chronic wasting disease infection in a deer in Holmes County.... a 1.5-year-old doe, killed by a vehicle along a roadway, tested positive for the disease. It was found less than a mile from Florida’s first-ever case of CWD in a deer in 2023..,
Cold snap in Florida made Burmese python puke up a whole deer September 19, 2025 Live Science
... A Burmese python in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve vomited up an entire white-tailed deer after temperatures in South Florida dipped below 50 degrees Fahrenheit ... the snake may kill another deer to make up the lost energy, further endangering the deer population ... Deer numbers are declining in the preserve ...
Study shows recovery of Florida panthers is a genetic success story July 28, 2025 WUSF
... The population of Florida panthers has increased tenfold over the past 30 years, thanks to the introduction of pumas from Texas into the Everglades. Despite that outside DNA, new research finds panthers have kept their genetic diversity...
Lifeguards rescue a deer from Flagler Beach waters July 8, 2025 Florida, WESH on MSN.com on MSN
... Witnesses said the deer had been in the water for approximately an hour and a half ... The lifeguards managed to straddle the deer across a rescue board and bring it back to land. Although they were trying to focus on getting the deer to safety, they were still concerned about the sharks...
Gross Pathology and Epidemiological Features of Mule Deerpox Virus Infections in Farmed White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Florid - Veterinary Microbiology, 2025
... Mule deerpox virus (DPV) is a member of the Poxviridae family that affects various deer species, causing crustaceous skin lesions and potentially lethal infections ... Focusing on 145 animals with DPV-like lesions ... 49 out of 145 deer (33.8%, 95% CI: 25.7%-40.9%) tested positive for DPV. Mule deerpox virus was identified in 20 of the 37 counties and 8 of the 10 deer management units (DMUs) ... The findings emphasize the need for enhanced disease surveillance ...
Warning Signs of Screwworm Infection in Animals May 15, 2025 Wisconsin Ag Connection
... The U.S. successfully eradicated screwworms in 1966. However, a resurgence occurred in 2016 among Key deer in the Florida Keys. That outbreak ended in early 2017 after a sterile fly release program eliminated the pest from the region...
Florida's first dedicated wildlife crossing overpass looks to preserve state's 'wonderful wild places' April 25, 2025 WPTV
... an $18 million wildlife crossing over I-4 about a mile east of State Road 33 ... "There's deer on the north side, and we've had bobcats and coyotes in the area, so we think within no time wildlife will start utilizing the crossing."...
Scientists raise alarm over concerning shift pushing species to domestication March 22, 2025 Florida, The Cool Down
...the Key deer, is a beloved and endangered Florida native ... Researchers have found that only the most isolated populations of Key deer rely on natural water sources, while the rest are drinking water provided by humans ... The study shared by the Journal for Nature Conservation identified many seasonal watering holes that dry up for some or even most of the year. Others become too salty ...
FWC approves new rule changes to increase antlerless deer harvest opportunities February 26, 2025 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
... In Zones B and C, hunters will be able to harvest antlerless deer during the archery, crossbow and muzzleloading gun seasons... In Zone D, antlerless deer will be allowed to be taken during the entirety of the deer season. The new rules also increase the bag limit for antlerless deer in DMU D2 to three as part of the statewide annual bag limit of five..,
FWC urges residents to report road-killed deer to CWD hotline February 13, 2025 Florida, Citrus County Chronicle
... The FWC urges anyone who sees a sick, abnormally thin, or road-killed deer to report its location by calling the CWD hotline at 866-CWD-WATCH (866-293-9282)... first detected in Florida in June 2023 ...
Investigators search for suspects accused of illegally killing nine deer in Hendry County January 24, 2025 Florida, NBC
... two suspects accused of illegally killing approximately nine deer. Investigators said they have exhausted all available leads and are now seeking the public's help in identifying the suspects ...
Drinking water availability patterns amplify domestication of Florida Key deer - Journal for Nature Conservation, 2024
... Rain and fresh water lens-filled depressions provide natural drinking water sources for Key deer. Historically, many natural fresh water sources have been destroyed by human development. Lack of natural drinking water sources is accelerating domestication of the Key deer...
Valerie Preziosi: Steward of Endangered Key Deer November 27, 2024 The Florida Keys & Key West
... Valerie Preziosi, founder and president of the nonprofit Save Our Key Deer Inc., works to save the indigenous and federally protected herd of about 800 small Key deer from human-provoked tragedies... she’s opening a new state-authorized Key deer rehabilitation facility on Big Pine Key....
Florida's Key Deer at Risk From Rising Sea Levels November 7, 2024 Newsweek on MSN
... the population dropped to around 50 from hunting and poaching... peaking at roughly 1,000 deer in the mid-2010s, but then a deadly parasite and Hurricane Irma caused the population to take a big hit. There are currently roughly 800 deer on the Florida Keys...,
Florida Deer Archive: Population and Management, Deer in the News, Disease, Suburban Management
Florida Data: For 2025, FWC approved increased antlerless hunting. Numbers from the deer hunt have been on a general decline since 2008, down about 62 percent by 2019. Florida doesn't provide deer population estimates. For 2015 to 2021 populations were estimated from the deer hunt data using the buck kill and a estimate of 700,000 deer in 2014 from the University of Florida Extension. In 2021 and again in 2025 articles reporting the current Florida deer population at 700,000 are quoting this source which actually refers to a 2014 population estimate. The deer kill from the hunt fell by 27.7 percent from 2014 to 2021, recovering somewhat in 2022. The state relies on the change in hunting data to detect changes in the deer population. From this relationship, the state learned that the deer population numbers are strongly related to rainfall -- too much or too little. High rainfall or hurricanes starting in 2016 and into the very wet 2020 reduced deer populations.
As summarized in the table below, about 570,000 in 2021, up from about 531,000 deer in 2019, down from about 650,000 in 2017.
Comments from the state indicate an approximately steady population through 2018 with lower populations in thee Big Bend region, south Florida, and Zone A. The decline in the deer harvest is attributed somewhat to fewer hunters, but the number of hunters increased from 98,000 in 2017 to 107,000 in 2021, an increase of about 9 percent. In 2020, the pandemic year, there were an estimated 123,492 hunters.
A 2024 study finds that pythons have become a significant predator of deer in Florida. Reports indicate a 94 percent reduction in the white-tailed deer in the Everglades due to Burmese pythons in 2018. In 2016 emergency pumping in the Everglades to prevent deer from drowning or starving.
In 2015 Florida biologist instituted antler point restrictions in an effort to increase the deer population over the next five years. Good rainfall that year benefited deer.
A research paper published in 2006 reports the "population estimates exceed 700,000 deer statewide." Some antlerless deer restrictions for areas A1, A2, and A3 for 2015 were designed to grow the herd. A 2004 estimate of 600,000 to 800,000 [about 700,000]
Approximately 137,000 deer hunters in the state taking about 20 percent of the herd each year. The deer harvest fell by 45 percent from 2010 to 2017. A study of deer populations in 2009 including deer from the northwest and southwest regions shows a balanced buck to doe ratio of close to 50:50 with fawning rates of 41% singles, 57% twins, 2% triplets.
In 2020, there were over 400 registered deer farms in the state. A beloved buck in Mayport with its own Facebook account for two years died when its antlers were tangled in a barb-wire fence in 2016.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) The first confirmed positive was reported in June, 2023, a road-killed 4.5-year-old female white-tailed deer in Holmes County sampled during routine surveillance activities tested positive for chronic wasting disease. In March, 2023, a deer in North Escambia was suspected of having CWD. The state had tested nearly 1700 deer since 2002. Testing continues in 2014. More in 2025.
History
Deer were numerous in the Florida Panhandle based on reports from the late 1600's, but commercial hunting for deer hides reduced the herd to about 20,000 by the 1700s. In 1828 the first hunting regulations were enacted to protect the herd, a ban on fire hunting west of the Suwanee River. Development in Florida opened up much of the state beginning in the late 1800's.
Over hunting and a deer removal campaign to eradicate the cattle-fever tick in the 1930s and 40s decimated the population, back to the historic low population of about 20,000 in the late 1930s. Also in the 1930s screw worm decreased the population. The legislature authorized participation in the Federal Aid to Wildlife program in 1941, beginning an era of deer conservation. In 1940 the population was about 12,000 although the state estimates it could sustain two million deer. Estimates of 25,000 in 1947 and 32,000 in 1948. By 1951, the deer herd had grown to around 45,000 to 50,000. Estimates of 36,675 in 1949 and 97,225 in 1959. An estimate of 160,000 in 1966 another at 200,000 for 1967. A 1969 estimate of 450,000 with a deer hunt kill of about 50,000. Another estimate of 450,000 for 1969 and 1970. a 1973 estimate of 400,000 to 500,000. Estimates for 600,000 in 1979, up from 27,000 in 1942.
A 1981 and 1982 population estimates of 600,000. In 1982 a special hunt to thin the deer in the Everglades because of flooding that was feared would lead to mass starvation. A 1986 estimate of 700,000. A population of about 800,000 for the decade prior to 1997 according to the game commission. A 1995 estimate of 800,000. By 1985, the annual deer harvest rose to over 100,000 for the first time, marking the beginning of the modern era of deer management. See FWC Deer Management Plan. The deer population was estimated at 750,000 in 1990 another source at over 700,000 for 1990. A 1991 estimate of 800,000 another 1991 estimate at 750,000. A 1995 estimate of 800,000.
Three subspecies of deer in Florida: coastal whitetail in the Panhandle, Florida whitetail throughout the peninsula, and a small population of protected Key deer in Big Pine Key.
Key Deer migrated from the mainland during the last Ice Age when sea levels were lower. Key deer were spread through the Florida Keys when the first Europeans arrived in the 1500s. In 1939 a bill was signed to protect them, but there were only 25 to 50 Key deer were left by 1950 after hunting. In 1953 a plan with agreed upon to protect key deer. About 70 in 1954. Less than 50 in 1967 when they were listed under the Endangered Species Act. About 250 in the early 1980s. A 1990 estimate of 250 to 300. A 1999 estimate at 625. Estimated at about 600 in 2011 through 2014 after 30 years of protection. Population estimates rose to 900 to 1,000, but a screw worm out beak in 2016 and hurricane Irma in 2018 brought the population down with estimates in 2019 of about 1,000 and in 2020 of 573 to 800. In 2019 there were discussions of removing key deer from the endangered species list, although their future is uncertain given sea rise.Less than 1,000 in 2021. A 2022 research paper put the total at 748. This estimate was updated in 2024 by FWC to between 700 and 800 deer.
More history and Florida deer information from the 2008 management plan.
Florida Deer Population Estimates: 33,000 in 1940, 300,000 in 1969.
Florida Panther population estimated in February, 2017, of 120 to 230 adult and subadults. The population in 2016 estimated at 100 to 180, 15 nearly 180 in 2015, at 2014 estimate from 120 to 180, up from 30 in 1995, the start of a restoration program. Around the year 1900, nearly 1300 panthers. The 2025 population is reported to have retained its diversity despite the import of large numbers from Texas.
Bear population in 2016 estimated at 4,350 adults, up from 300 to 500 in the 1970's.
Pythons, not native to Florida, are found to be eating deer in the Everglades in 2016. An estimated population of 100,000 in 2017.
Report poaching: Wildlife Alert Line at 1-888-404-FWCC
Other useful links:
- Florida Department of Environmental Protection
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC)
- Deer Management in North Florida
- History of Deer Management in Florida
- Modeling spatial use patterns of white-tailed deer in the Florida Everglades (2000)
