Georgia Deer Population: A 2024 estimate of 1.1 million whitetail deer. About one million deer from 2017 to 2022. The DNR estimated 1.27 million deer for 2015 and 1.2 million in 2004. A peak of about 1.9 million in the 1990s.
Georgia Deer News
Embedded Files
How Georgia game wardens protect our environment every day April 22, 2025 13WMAZ
... While Georgia’s overall deer population has remained steady, increased activity in farmland areas has led to more crop damage and frustration among farmers..,
Wildlife officials confirm 2nd case of fatal disease in Georgia deer April 23, 2025 FOX 5 Atlanta on MSN
... a second deer has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), a fatal neurological condition affecting deer, elk, and moose. A previous case had been found in Lanier County in January - just 400 yards away from where the second case was confirmed..,
Diet Activity Relationships of Sympatric White-Tailed Deer, Black Bear, and Wild Pig Populations in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of Georgia - Southeastern Naturalist, 2025
... White-tailed Deer ... populations in the southern Appalachian Mountains of Georgia have declined substantially during the past several decades. Simultaneously ... American Black Bear ... and ...Wild Pig populations have increased, potentially exacerbating resource competition and influencing interspecific activities...
The Latest Science Says Deer Can Essentially See in Slow Motion April 7, 2025 Georgia, Field & Stream
... Dr. Karl Miller, former professor at the UGA Deer Lab. He brought up the topic of flicker fusion rates (FF) ... For humans the rate averages around 60 Hz in well-lit conditions. According to new studies, it may be up to 120 Hz for whitetail ... their ability to see motion “up to four times ours” ...
'It's too dangerous': Neighbors oppose targeted deer hunting near their homes February 11, 2025 Georgia, Yahoo
... Some people who live in a Roswell subdivision fear someone could get hurt ... “There was a deer shot. There was blood all over the sidewalk. The deer was lying six feet from the sidewalk. We just happened to walk down that street a couple of minutes after that happened, and the deer was taking its last breath. It’s not always guaranteed you will hit the animal. Nobody’s 100%,” ...
Deer found shot with practice arrows in Gainesville; neighborhood reacts February 7 2025 Georgia, WSB-TV on MSN
... “There’s probably six or seven roaming around with arrows in their bodies, so they’re suffering,” ... Using practice arrows for hunting is prohibited in Georgia, because it often inflicts painful wounds that can linger for weeks, months or longer...
Video Below: “chronic wasting disease,” reportedly found in a deer in Georgia last week. Meeting of the Georgia Senate Committee on Natural Resources. January 27, 2025 [Meeting starts at 1:50 into the video]
Discovery of deer disease puts $1.6 billion hunting industry on alert January 27, 2025 Georgia, MSN
... Deer hunting has a $1.6 billion impact in Georgia and supports more than 150,000 jobs ... The state has been monitoring the deer herd since 2002 and collects 1,800 samples monthly ... "It wasn't a sick deer. It was just a routine surveillance that we do." ..,
Chronic wasting disease detected in Georgia deer for the first time January 24, 2025 Phys.org
... In a statement, DNR Commissioner Walter Rabon sought to reassure hunters, saying that "deer hunting will continue to thrive in Georgia, despite this current discovery." "Working together with our hunters and all Georgians, we will manage CWD and maintain healthy deer herds," he added...
First Positive Case of Chronic Wasting Disease Confirmed in Georgia January 23, 2025 Georgia DNR News
... The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) has confirmed through the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories that a hunter-harvested deer sampled for routine surveillance in Lanier County has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This is the first case of CWD detected in Georgia. The sample was taken from a two-and-a-half-year-old male white-tailed deer harvested on private property..,
Buck With Hairless Patches Likely Had Mange January 7, 2025 Georgia Outdoor News
... Demodectic mange in whitetail deer is caused by a species-specific type of mite called Demodex odocoilei that can burrow into the hair follicles ... “Deer with healthy immune systems should be able to clear the mites without a problem,” ...
DNR asks for public's help preventing chronic wasting disease in Georgia January 6, 2024 WSAV-TV
... Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has not been found in Georgia ... Report sick looking deer to the DNR’s Game Management Offices ... Don’t move deer waste carcass parts from one area to another ..,
Statewide Deer Firearms Hunting Season Opens Sat. October 9 October 9, 2024 Georgia, EIN Presswire
... During the 2023-24 firearms deer season, nearly 180,000 hunters harvested around 240,000 deer in the state... Chronic Wasting Disease ... has not been detected in our state ..,
Who wins the deer vs. mankind sensory perception showdown? September 20, 2024 Georgia, Albany Herald
... a deer’s visual acuity is actually 20/100, meaning that a human with 20/20 vision can see details at 100 feet that a deer can see only at 20 feet... deer are far superior when it comes to detecting motion ... superior vision in low light conditions as well as in total darkness ...
Georgia's love/hate relationship with deer September 18, 2024 Appen Media
... Today there are an estimated 1.1 million white-tailed deer in Georgia. In the late 1800s and early 1900s the once plentiful animal almost disappeared due to land-clearing by farmers and commercial hunting for the deerskin trade... At the turn of the last century there were an estimated 5,000 deer in Georgia..,
Georgia hunters vigilant as chronic wasting disease in deer is in several contiguous states August 17, 2024 Yahoo
... Although no "Zombie Deer” have been found in Georgia, the discovery of infected deer in Florida last year has the state surrounded with the exception of South Carolina... “The No. 1 way to transmit it into a new area is to move deer into the area, ”Killmaster said. “That is how it has spread in many areas...
The pros and cons of nonresident hunters in Georgia August 9, 2024 Albany Herald
... There is no way to deny that the overall demand for deer leases has driven prices up. Over the decades, prices in southwest Georgia have risen from a few dollars an acre to more than $20, depending upon contiguous acreage, habitat quality, and other amenities and concessions. Contention over leases is often the catalyst for most anti-nonresident sentiment. Many Georgia hunters blame these price increases on nonresidents ...
Wildlife biologist talks about the best deer-resistant shrubs June 7, 2024 Georgia, UGA Today
... deer typically hate boxwoods, junipers, forsythia, butterfly bush, beautyberry and inkberry holly, as well as most hollies in general. If ... you’re trying to determine the culprit, look for ragged edges. Because deer have no upper incisors, they bite and tear plants ...
Report Ignites Unsubstantiated Fears Regarding CWD Transmission In Humans April 23, 2024 Georgia Outdoor News
... in the journal, Neurology, the abstract stated, “The patient’s history, including a similar case in his social group, suggests a possible novel animal-to-human transmission of CWD.” While the researchers qualified their statement by citing a lack of evidence of transmission, their presentation has led to news reports with sensationalized headlines ...
Female Deer Movements Relative to Firearms Hunting in Northern Georgia, USA - Animals, 2024
... Deer populations within the Chattahoochee National Forest of northern Georgia, USA, have declined significantly since the 1980s... Our results suggest that the low level of hunting pressure in our study area led to no biologically significant changes in female deer movements...
National Deer Association urges outdoorsmen to take CWD report with grain of salt April 19, 2024 Georgia, Daily Leader
... NDA states the new report from Neurology is causing confusion about human health implications of chronic wasting disease in deer and humans... The poster’s abstract gives vague details about the men and does not say where the men lived, nor that the men specifically ate meat from CWD infected deer, just a CWD infected population...
Injured deer put on leash during rescue — then poses for selfie, photos show. April 11, 2024 Georgia, Miami Herald
... Sandy Springs officers found a loophole in the city’s leash laws to lead a deer to safety after the animal was struck by a bus ...
Help Develop The Next Georgia Deer Management Plan: Opportunities for Input February 24, 2024 Georgia DNR
... the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Wildlife Resources Division is actively seeking your input. Georgia WRD’s successful deer management efforts are informed through biological data, public input and management objectives identified in the agency’s statewide Deer Management Plan (see current and former copies of the Plan). This plan is developed through an intensive public participation process ...
- Animals, 2023
... We examined a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) population with evidence of decline in the Southern Appalachian region of the United States. In the Chattahoochee National Forest (CNF) in northern Georgia, deer harvest numbers and hunter success rates have drastically reduced over the last few decades ... Projections indicated that the white-tailed deer population will decline by an average of 4.0% annually under current conditions ...
White-tailed deer are eating through Georgia crops, causing millions in damage November 20, 2023 The Christian Index
... populations in Georgia are stable, according to harvest data from hunting season. Other research shows the number of deer in North Georgia has actually gone down, due to habitat changes, and more bears and coyotes. Charlie Killmaster is the deer biologist for the state of Georgia. While he recognizes that it’s possible deer populations have grown slightly in Southwest Georgia ..,
A deer in headlights | What to do when drivers encounter them on the road November 13, 2023 Georgia, 11Alive.com
... DNR said there are 40,000 to 60,000 car crashes involving deer every year in the state... “They have very poor depth perception with their eyes on the side of their head. So, they can’t tell, judge speed or distance or anything like that that could help them prevent getting hit by a vehicle,” [DNR State Deer Biologist Charlie Killmaster]
Drivers beware: Deer mating season kicks into gear around Georgia roads November 7, 2023 Georgia, YAHOO!News
... Georgia averages around 50,000 deer-village collisions per year... We are entering the breeding season for deer and that's the time of year when they throw caution to the wind ...
Deer are eating through Georgia crops. For farmers, it's the latest cost to worry about November 1, 2023 Now Habersham
... while some farmers swear there are just more deer, populations in Georgia are stable, according to harvest data from hunting season. Other research shows the number of deer in North Georgia has actually gone down due to habitat changes and more bears and coyotes. Charlie Killmaster is the deer biologist for the state of Georgia. While he recognizes that it’s possible deer populations have grown slightly in Southwest Georgia ...
... . During 2018–2020, we radio-collared 71 fawns within the Chattahoochee National Forest of northern Georgia, USA and monitored survival to 12 weeks of age. We observed low fawn survival (cumulative = 0.157, 95% CI = 0.091–0.273; vaginal implant transmitter = 0.196, 95% CI = 0.096–0.403) with predation as the leading cause of all known mortalities (45 of 55 mortalities; 82%) due primarily to coyotes (n = 22), black bears (n = 12), and bobcats (n = 7). Relationships between landscape features and fawn predation risk were minima ...
Bobcat Kills Fawn On Drone Footage October 3, 2023 Georgia Outdoor News
... . He flew in for a closer look and saw legs flailing on a fawn as a bobcat was finishing off the young deer before dragging it away...
Coyote Attacks Buck On Camera September 14, 2023 Georgia Outdoor News
... Beginning at 9:02 a.m. that morning, a coyote and young buck were in the same photo ... by 9:03, two coyotes are in the picture and one of them appears to have its mouth near, or on, the back ham of the buck... By 9:09, the buck is dead and one of the coyotes is walking off into a thicket of briars...
Assessment of a Declining White-tailed Deer Population in the Southern Appalachians of Norther Georgia. September, 2023. A. Edge. University of Georgia
... Long-term harvest data collected from eight wildlife management areas in northern Georgia from 1979–2015 have suggested white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations are declining throughout the Chattahoochee National Forest... expanding predator populations and increasingly homogenous forest structure of the Southern Appalachian region suggest low fawn recruitment as a potential cause of declines...
Be Part Of The Georgia Defense Against Chronic Wasting Disease August 28, 2023 Georgia, Wildlife Resources Dividision
... “Moving live deer is the greatest risk factor for introducing CWD to Georgia, which is why the importation of all deer species from other states is prohibited,” says Charlie Killmaster, WRD State Deer Biologist. “However, movement of deer carcasses also presents risk. If you have a successful hunt out-of-state, you need to be familiar with what parts of that animal you are allowed to bring back with you.” ...
GA wildlife officials ask public to watch for symptoms of fatal disease in deer June 15, 2023 Georgia, YAHOO!News
... it was detected in Florida for the first time. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) ... Over time, symptoms such as dramatic weight loss, poor body condition, subtle head tremors, and droopy head and ears may occur...
The University of Georgia Cited for Critical Violations of Federal Law May 16, 2023 Georgia, PETA Statement
... A deer contracted pneumonia and nearly starved to death before anyone at the school noticed ... recent U.S. Department of Agriculture citations against the University of Georgia–Athens for critical violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act ...
The Story Of A Buck Named Mack March 13, 2023 Georgia Outdoor News
... Over the years, the development of many hunting clubs and the cutting of hardwood timber that now has been replanted under pine timber companies has made it much tougher to harvest a mature Georgia whitetail buck in the west-central Georgia county...
WRD Kicks Off Public Meetings With Deer Season Dates, Bears and Gators January 18, 2023 Georgia Outdoor News
... seven hunters, in addition to a handful of WRD biologists and DNR Law Enforcement folks, attended to hear about proposed regulation changes for the next two years...
Deer Season Changes Proposed For Eight Southwest Georgia Counties January 10, 2023 Georgia Outdoor News
... GON has heard from some hunters in southwest Georgia counties that later rut dates meant they were receiving the short end of the hunting stick when it came to being able to hunt the rut, a time when mature bucks drop their guard. Those hunters may get some relief with additional hunting days ...
Virtual and In-Person Public Meetings Scheduled for Hunting Regulations Jan. 12-18, 2023 Georgia Department of Natural Resources
... Hunters and other interested citizens, your input on the development of hunting regulation proposals for the 2023-2025 hunting seasons is requested by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) at any of the upcoming in-person or virtual scheduled meetings. Virtual and In-Person Scheduled Meetings (all meetings take place at 7pm): ...
Georgia Deer Archive: Population and Management, Deer in the News, Disease, Suburban Management, Transportation, Deer Resistant Plants
Georgia data: The state reported a steady population in April, 2025. A state population estimated of 1.1 million whitetail deer reported by the press in 2024 and an estimate from hunting data of 1.1 million in 2023. Population estimates in the graph below prior to 2019 are based on a graphic from the Georgia Department of Natural Resource's 2019 hunting report that has been digitized. Estimates for 2019 to 2023 are based on hunting data.
About one million deer in 2022, based on hunting data 1,004,000 deer. A significant decline in the deer population since 2012 when the population was about 1.4 million, and a long-term decline since the peak of about 1.9 million deer in the 1990s. Some of the decline was planned and achieved by an increase in the number of does taken in the hunt. A nearly stable population since 2017 of about one million. A 2023 study identifies a long-term deer population decline from 1979 in the Chattahoochee National Forest as a result of a homogenous forest structure and predation. In 2023 the DRN reported that there were 40,000 to 60,000 deer crashes with cars every year.
According to a 2022 report, populations in the North Georgia mountains have dropped by almost two-thirds over the past few decades with mature forests that don't provide adequate food for deer cited as a major factor. Coyote predation is also cited as a major factor. Change in habitat has affected west-central Georgia. One of the worst acorn crops in years in 2022 significantly reduced deer food sources.
An estimate of 958,000 deer in 2021. About 1 million deer based on a 2020 estimate, 1,005,000 based on hunting data. Good rainfall in 2020 supported deer populations. Georgia changed to mandatory reporting for deer hunters in 2016.
Using hunting data the 2019 estimate was about 976,000 deer. In 2019 there was less than normal rainfall but lots of fawns were born in 2018 and reduced doe permits helped maintain the population. In 2019 Georgia launched the Deer Management Assistance Program, also known as D-MAP, to help landowners better manage their deer herd. About 1,042,000 deer in 2018
A 2017 estimate that 50,000 coyotes were killed each year by deer hunters who take about 300,000 to 350,000 deer each year - about a third of the herd estimated at over one million - 1,082,000 from hunting data.
Drought in 2016 pressured deer numbers. The forest service proposes create some young forest conditions in north Georgia forests in 2016 to reverse declines in deer and grouse populations. Just under a million deer estimated for 2016 at about 966,000.
The state made a detailed population of 1.27 million deer for 2015. There was a big decline in the deer hunt in 2015 partly a result of wet weather that provided food for deer and reduced their movement during hunting season. The 1.2 million population estimate for 2014 is a correction to the estimate in the 2015-24 Deer Management Plan reflecting the new deer model. The 2015 plan called for an increase in the herd size in the Blue Ridge Mountain region, a slight increase to a stable herd size in the Ridge & Valley region across the Piedmont and the Lower Coastal Plain, and a stable deer harvest across the Upper Coastal Plain. Coyote predation research in 2015 and earlier reports a devastating impact on fawn survival.
In 2013, hunters requested a shorter hunting season to support the deer population. Coyote predation and changes in the timber industry that have impacted habitat are pushing deer numbers down. Reduced doe harvest began in 2013 and continued into 2015 with fewer hunting days in a number of areas to offset predation. About 300,000 deer hunters. More than 1 million acres of public hunting land.
About 1.2 million deer according to a 2004 state publication.
The population graphic below from 2019 harvest report which puts the peak deer population at about 1.9 million using scale on the right verticle axis which represents the new population model. This graph was used to create the deer population estimates above.
Georgia deer harvest and density from Georgia DNR
History When Europeans arrived, deer were found throughout Georgia. By the 1750s, the Creek Indians were shipping as many as 60,000 deer skins a year to Europe. At the beginning of the 19th century deer were hunted to near extinction, with a few local herds remaining by 1885. [History] By the early 1900s the population had fallen to about 5,000 deer.
The first restocking began in 1927. By 1937, the herd was estimated at about 12,500, the result of unregulated hunting. An estimate of in 1937. The bulk of the restocking was from 1948 to 1965 and continued into the early 1980's. In 1954 dart guns were developed to aid in the restocking effort. Conservation efforts brought the population to about 220,000 by 1972, peaking at about 1.4 million in 1998 according to the management plan. Another estimate of 1.6 million in the late 1990s. Another source puts the population peak around 2005 at 1.6 to 1.7 million. An estimated 1.3 million in 2001.
In the early 1980's, does accounted for only about a quarter of the harvest, an effort to boost the population. Yearling bucks were the majority of the deer taken. Since 2002 the state focused on balanced demographics, with the doe harvest about 60 percent of the total through 2012.
Population Estimates: 3,000 in 1940, 150,000 in 1968. 3,000 in 1947.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) First discovered in January, 2025, a hunter killed deer in Lanier County with a second deer discovered nearby in April in Berrien County. In 2022 the state implement rules to prevent hunters from bringing deer into Georgia from states with CWD.
Poacher Hotline: The public can reach the TIP hotline by dialing 1-800-241-4113, by dialing *DNR on a cell phone, or by sending an email to RangerHotline@dnr.state.ga.us Those reporting should try to obtain the following information: the type of violation, a description of the violator, description of the violator’s vehicle, and the date, time and location of the violation.
Other useful links:
- Peak Deer Movement, Georgia Rut Map - Georgia Biological Deer Database
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