New Jersey Deer Population An estimate of 145,000 deer in 2024 with a large proportion in suburban areas. The state estimates populations in hunted areas only and made an estimate of 115,000 in 2023. An estimate using hunting data of 105,000 whitetail deer in hunted areas for 2022, down from a state estimate of about 133,000 in 2018. An EHD outbreak in 2021 reduced deer populations. A state estimate of about 146,000 in 2017, up from about 100,000 in 2015. The state estimates the recent peak population at 204,000 in 1995. Estimates apply to deer in hunted areas.
New Jersey Deer News
Deer hunt at Morristown National Historical Park is over − for now March 18, 2025 New Jersey, Daily Record on MSN
... "Our goal was to reduce that to under 20 per square," Pfister said, adding the program will resume on an as-needed basis. "We will conduct another survey later this year or early next year. The numbers are always going to determine the path forward." ...
New Jersey residents, shelter rally to rescue deer with severe tumor March 9, 2025 Shore News Network
...A distressed deer suffering from a suspected fibroma was rescued after concerned residents alerted the Associated Humane Societies/Popcorn Park Shelter...
Police apprehend poachers after Ring doorbell captures illegal kill on camera February 21, 2025 New Jersey, The Cool Down
... a Ring video camera captured a deer being shot in the driveway of a home in Lexington, New York, in November 2023. The footage also showed two people backing into the driveway in a black pickup truck, loading the deer, and driving away. A year later, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police found the same truck ...
New Jersey deer poachers caught on camera nabbed in NY after year-long investigation January 14, 2025 syracuse.com
... a Ring video camera captured a deer being shot and collapsing in the driveway of a home in Lexington, NY. The video also showed two people back into the driveway, load the deer into a black pick-up truck with New Jersey plates ...
Have you ever seen a white deer? Meet Pete, Allendale's resident piebald deer January 9, 2025 New Jersey, northjersey.com
... often confused with albino deer, but piebald deer have some brown fur and brown eyes ... "He lifts up your spirits. It makes you happy to see him," Cusato said. "It also kind of stresses me out because of the traffic and the deer. I don't want anything to happen to him. The people love to see him." ...
Deer Cull Returning To Essex County For 2025 January 7, 2025 New Jersey, Patch on MSN.com
... Since 2008, a total of 3,226 deer (2,041 deer and 1,185 unborn deer) have been killed as part of the cull. ... The Animal Protection League of New Jersey is planning to hold two protests as this year's hunt kicks off...
Princeton Deer Management Plan Is Stalled December 18, 2024 New Jersey, Town Topics
... Princeton is looking to become the first town in the state to gain a permit to use fertility control to manage its deer population... Town Topics reached out to F&W requesting information about Princeton’s application and specifically F&W’s apparent stonewalling and opposition to non-lethal deer management, but had received no response by press time Tuesday...
Lesniak Calls On Murphy And LaTourette To Stop Inhumane Fish & Game Council's Deer Management December December 11, 2024 New Jersey, Insider NJ
... Former Senator Raymond Lesniak today sent a message by email to Governor Murphy and DEP Commissioner LaTourette to take control of the Fish & Game Council’s Deer Management Program. In the message Lesniak cited information from Princeton Mayor Mark Freda detailing the Fish & Game Council’s refusal to consider sterilization as a more effective and certainly more humane approach to deer management as requested by Princeton’s Mayor...
Mahwah and Saddle River, Deer Hunting Protest Planned In Mahwah This Week November 19, 2024 New Jersey, Patch on MSN.com
... the borough of Saddle River voted to allow bowhunters to decrease the population of deer and coyotes in a planned "cull" in the fall... a statewide group called the Animal Protection League has amassed 800 signatures on a petition to stop that hunt...
Deer Hunt Underway In Montgomery Township October 14, 2024 New Jersey Hillsborough, NJ Patch
... Montgomery’s Deer Management Program began in 2001 after a Township-wide infrared survey was conducted and found the deer population to be around 88 deer per square mile ...
Acorn Boom in New Jersey: A Natural Phenomenon September 26, 2024 New Jersey, 106.3 The Bear - iHeart
... The acorn boom has significant effects on local wildlife. Animals that feed on acorns, such as deer, bear ..,
N.J. deer population is dropping, but complaints over deer destruction are on the rise August 25. 2024, New Jersey, WHYY
... According to official estimates, the deer population in the Garden State is trending downward, now standing at 115,000 ... based on hunter harvest data [2023 hunt data is the most recent with 35,573 deer taken, so apparently Brian Schumm, an assistant biologist with the State Division of Fish and Wildlife, is referring to a 2023 estimate] ... He said the population estimate is probably accurate for parts of the state where hunting is permitted, but inaccurate for areas where hunting is reduced or prohibited...
Solebury Sees Drop In Deer Population August 21, 2024 New Hope Free Press
... Although Ray suggests “An ideal number for a healthy forest ecosystem is 10 deer per square mile” research from the U.S. Forest Service for Northeast forests finds “when deer populations were reduced to just-right densities (from about 28 to about 15 deer per square mile in that particular landscape) populations of wildflower indicator species such as trilliums and Canada mayflower started to recover” See this and other related research This analysis applies to a large forest where habitat may allow different deer densities. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource finds that “The number of deer that a community wants is a community decision. There is no biologically correct number. The biological carrying capacity of many of our urban areas can be over 100 deer per square mile.” See this and other related research See an analysis of related work by Ray
Saddle River, United Bowhunters of New Jersey sign 1-year agreement for deer hunt August 20, 2024 New Jersey, News 12 Networks
... all participants in this program must be members of the United Bowhunters of New Jersey ... Participants can kill coyotes and white-tailed deer, but only if the coyote is incidental to killing a deer...
They plan to hunt deer in my Central Jersey neighborhood. Very bad idea August 10, 2024 New Jersey, NJ.com
...In Saddle River, a bucolic borough in Bergen County, deer-car collisions rose 66% when the council initiated a hunt against majority resident opposition (the borough eventually “suspended” the hunts). Residents obtained 65 police reports concerning incidents directly related to hunter activity...
State officials want to confiscate a deer living at a Lawrenceville farm August 8, 2024 New Jersey, Planet Princeton
... a fawn wobbled toward her ... followed the fawn's path in the woods and found a dead mother deer ... was told the county would not pick the fawn up ... began taking care of him ... New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife showed up ... informing her that the fawn would be seized for evidence ... her petition for a Wildlife Permit was denied ...
New Jersey Town Advances Plan to Surgically Sterilize Individual Deer to Reduce Herd July 15, 2024 Field & Stream
... But before the plan can take effect, it must be approved by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife—which has twice before rejected Princeton’s requests to start a surgical sterilization program ... The current deer density ... is estimated at 43 to 51 deer per square mile...
Princeton Seeks to Add Darts and Surgical Staples to Its Deer-Control Arsenal July 10, 2024 New Jersey, TAPinto
... Princeton Council approved a solution for dealing with the town’s over-population of deer: Surgical sterilization... the town’s deer management contractor, White Buffalo Inc., the sterilization team hopes to treat at least 40 female deer this winter...
Important Information Regarding Deer Management Zones 45 and 46 July 9, 2024 New Jersey, NJDEP
... DMZ 45 and DMZ 46 are open for deer hunting for the 2024 Fall Bow, Youth Archery Day, 6-Day Firearm, and Youth Firearm Day ONLY... Closures are a result of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) mortalities from 2021 and 2022 and a failure of the population to recover..,
Suspected New Jersey Shoplifter Fled Police, Hid a Baby Deer in a Shopping Bag June 7, 2024 Shore News Network
... During the interaction, a fawn peeked out from the bag, leading officers to detain him for illegal possession of a deer...
Officer Reunites Baby Deer With Mother In Highland Park May 16, 2024 New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ Patch
... someone found a baby deer, picked the animal up and brought it to Highland Park Police headquarters... the deer was now separated from its mother ... Humane Law Enforcement Officer Alaina Giles was able to reunite the fawn with its mother ...
Attention NJ Deer Hunters - We Need Your Input! - NJDEP April 12, 2024
... Please take our survey ... New Jersey is considering significant changes to its Deer Hunting Regulations ...
Saddle River suspends deer culling program after five years. Here's why March 17, 2024 New Jersey, The Record, Bergen County on MSN.com
... "We have data indicating deer accidents have actually gone up in the borough since the hunting began, possibly because the deer are scared onto roads by the hunters," Lin said [Animal Protection League of New Jersey attorney Doris Lin] ...
Annual national deer stats report! March 15, 2024 New Jersey, Sullivan County Democrat
... New Jersey hunters take the highest percentage of deer with archery equipment at 65 percent of the harvest ...
Wayne, Decision looms for funding of 8-foot-tall deer fence at Laurelwood Arboretum in Wayne February 6, 2024 New Jersey, NorthJersey.com
... It would be set back 50 feet from all streets surrounding the arboretum... Mayor Christopher Vergano, an ardent supporter of the arboretum, said the outlay is an appropriate use of tax dollars. “I don’t have a problem with spending our money on our park,” ...
No, it’s not an abandoned overpass. The story behind N.J.’s wildlife bridges. January 8, 2024 New Jersey, NJ.com on MSN
... “What the overpasses have done allows animals to access either side of 78,” Zarate said. “We know they work in successfully moving animals and equate to less likely being killed on the road.” ... “Deer was a main driver for the project,” ...
Controversial Deer Hunt Will Return In Essex County For 2024 January 2, 2024 New Jersey, Patch on MSN
... “We urge you to stop wasting our taxpayer money and spend the $1 million or so that you have wasted over the years to plant trees (and use deer protection as you do in Brookdale Park, which allows the trees to grow with no issue),” Our Green West Orange stated...
Hilltop Deer Hunt Starts Next Week January 2, 2024 New Jersey, MyVeronaNJ
... Since the hunts were first held in 2008, a total of 3,057 deer (1,926 deer and 1,131 unborn deer) have been removed ...
Endangered since the 1990s, NJ's bobcat population is now on the rise January 2, 2024 New Jersey, northjersey.com
... according to a recent study by the Department of Environmental Protection ... there are 200 to 400 bobcats thriving in the Garden State..,
Safe Driving in NJ During Deer Mating Season November 26, 2023 New Jersey, 92.7 WOBM
... According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, there are over 15,000 deer-to-vehicle accidents every year..,
“He Looks Like A Tiger” – Giant Bobcat Snatches Baby Deer In New Jersey Backyard November 1, 2023 Whiskey Riff
... video then cuts to a few moments later when the predator that potentially caused this damage revealed itself. A giant, and I mean GIANT bobcat comes out of the tree line to snatch up the still writhing fawn...
Deer 'Struggling' in Rough Tide Returns to Shore With Help From Surfer October 3, 2023 New Jersey, Yahoo Canada Sports
... “He was struggling as the incoming tide was rough that morning,” ... a happy outcome, as the animal regained the shore safely, after “a little help from a surfer” ...
Deer leaps from Route 3 overpass and crashes through vehicle windshield on Route 21 September 27, 2023 New Jersey, Yahoo
... crashed through the windshield of a vehicle heading south on Route 21 in Clifton, police said. After the deer wound up in the lap of the driver, 45, of a 2016 Jeep Compass, the driver lost control of the vehicle ...
New Jersey Deer News and Information Archive by Topic: Population and Management, Deer in the News, Disease, Suburban, Transportation
New Jersey data: A large acorn crop in 2024 will support deer populations. A population estimate of 115,000 deer was reported to the press in 2024 using hunting data reflecting deer in hunted areas. Another estimate for 2024 of 145,000 would included non-hunted, suburban areas. The 105,000 population estimate for 2022 was based on a decline revealed in hunting data. A widespread outbreak of EHD in 2021 reduced deer populations with reduced hunting in some areas into 2024. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) reported to the press in 2021 that the deer population had been on a decline since 2017. Estimates for 1984 to 2018 in the graph below are based on a recent NJDEP report with hunting data used to fill in a few missing years. Estimates are for deer in hunted areas.
The deer hunt results were down by 30% in 2021 from 2020. Hunter numbers in 2020 were elevated as a result of the pandemic which accounts for part of the decline. The hunt was down 25% in 2022 from 2018 when the state estimated a population of about 133,000. About 114,000 deer in 2019 based on hunting data and an estimate in the press.
In 2023 a report of more than 15,000 deer-vehicle collisions every year which in include many suburban deer not included in the state estimates.
DEP estimated 112,126 deer in 2017 and 101,000 deer in 2016 in areas available for hunting. A good mast crop in 2017. The large increase posted for the 2016-17 deer hunt is partly attributed to an improved acorn crop. About 100,000 deer in 2015. About 62 percent of the 51,596 deer hunted in 2013 were antlerless. In 2014 roughly 106,000 deer in the state, according to DEP estimates at the time, down from an estimated peak of 204,000 in 1995 as a result of state policies to reduce the population.
In 1998, the statewide minimum fall, pre-hunting season deer population was estimated at 178,598. Despite news media reports that the New Jersey deer population is exploding, the statewide population has remained relatively stable during the past several years [see page 4 and 6]". About 50,000 are killed in hunts each year, about 25,000 killed by cars. See the graph and data below for the state deer population estimate starting in 1984. A breakout of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease in 2007 killed 15 to 30 percent of the deer herd, highest in the south.
A population estimate of 140,000 in 2009 and 153,000 in 1990.
Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) "Annual sampling of New Jersey deer harvested since 1998 have found no evidence of the disease. Based on those samples, if CWD was present in our state we are 99% confident it was in less than 1% of the adult deer at that time (without testing all of the animals in a population it is statistically impossible to say a disease is not there)." Source: New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) was first identified in 1955 when several hundred deer died in both New Jersey and Michigan. Outbreaks in 2021, a major outbreak, and 2017. Severe outbreaks in 2007 and 1999. Outbreaks 1955 to 2012.
Suburban Deer Management In 2011 New Jersey become the second state after Maryland to approve contraceptives for deer population control. It has rarely if ever been used.
History Deer are native to New Jersey with a thriving population in colonial days. According to a report by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station "in the era before the arrival of colonial settlers, typical NJ habitats could support about 15 to 21 deer per square mile." New Jersey is 7,352.9 square miles. Applying the mid-point of the 15 to 21 per square mile, 18 per square mile, gives a rough estimate of 132,000 deer. By 1900 deer had been virtually exterminated from the state as a result of unregulated hunting. Just a few deer remained by the early 1900s. A restocking effort was started to restore the population. The state commented in a 1999 report that "On a regional basis, deer populations actually peaked in the 1930s in the pinelands of southern New Jersey and in many areas of northern New Jersey in the 1950s (Burke et al., 1990)."
Bear, an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 bears in 2017. An estimated 3,158 in 2020.
Bobcats, 200 to 400 in New Jersey around 2023 according to an EPA study.
Report Sick Deer: Office of Fish and Wildlife Health and Forensics, 908-236-2118
Other useful links:
- New Jersey Division of Fish, Game & Wildlife
- White-tailed Deer in NJ, NJDEP
- Report dead deer along the highway to New Jersey DOT