As I blog this, I look out the window at 10 inches of snow on the ground. It’s 19 degrees…and this is Virginia. I saw where snow is on the ground in 40 of 50 states. In the Midwest and Northeast it’s particularly cold and snowy, and has been for months. No doubt the whitetails there are under tremendous stress, having trouble finding food under deep snow, and fighting to maintain body heat that is critical to their survival.
We hunters wonder and worry: How are the herds doing?
Two scientists from frozen regions weigh in. “After a tough winter that had a (negative) impact on deer numbers in 2013, this certainly isn’t what any of us had hoped for,” says Kevin Wallenfang, Wisconsin big game ecologist. According to Kevin, the 2012-13 winter started out fairly mild, but late, significant snows and cold temperatures occurred well into May, resulting in losses of deer and lower than average fawn production. “With deer numbers already low in some areas, this winter is going to slow the recovery of the northern herd,” says Kevin.
QDMA biologist Kip Adams, who lives in Pennsylvania, says: “I suspect most deer are all right thus far, but what happens from now to green-up will be what really decides their fate. Research from the University of New Hampshire shows adult does enter winter with about a 90-day fat supply, and fortunately most winters don’t last longer than 90 days – at least not from a deer’s perspective. From a human’s perspective – yes, but deer are much tougher than we are.”
“A brutal January and February followed by an early green-up can result in minimal impacts to deer. Conversely, an easy January followed by a hard February and late green-up can have much harsher impacts on deer. Even though it’s been tough, it’s too early to tell what the impacts will be from this winter. A month from now we’ll have a better idea, and 2 months from now we’ll be able to make a great prediction on what we’ll see as far as fawns this summer and deer this fall.”
Bottom line: There will most certainly be some winter mortality, especially with sick or injured deer. But what happens from now on is the real key. We need the weather to break and the snow to melt the next couple of months. But if it stays cold and snowy/icy into early spring…not good for the herds or us.
Game departments are asking the public to report any observations of winter deer mortalities, and so am I. How is the cold/snow where you live and hunt? How do you think your deer are doing?
Interesting read,up in here in eastern Canada we’ve had a more “normal” winter after 3 or 4 milder than normal winters.We’re on the northern extreme of eastern Whitetail range here in northern New Brunswick and severe winters have pretty much annihilated our Whitetail population before ;in 2008 that happened when we had 5 feet of snow at times.The population has been on a steady upswing since though.
One thing we’re lucky about this winter is that predator (coyote) numbers are way down according to all the trappers and winter hunters I’ve talked to.One local trapper told me a few days ago that by this time last year he’d trapped or shot about 50 coyotes;this year he’s gotten 11.Black bears kill a lot of fawns up in these parts as we have bears everywhere now it seems and studies have shown that severe winters contribute to “weak fawns” (low birth weight etc) so the effect of winter weather here isn’t just about the deer that have to slog through it. I think if we’re lucky enough to get an early spring like we have the last few years our deer will fair OK.
Worst winter for snow and cold that I can remember. We easily have 2′ on the ground and snow drifts 3-4′ deep in spots. Wasn’t much better in northern Illinois the other weekend when we were out coyote hunting. We got our first snow towards the end of Nov and don’t think we’ve seen the ground since. You can tell the deer are getting hungry as they have been getting close to peoples houses trying to eat bushes & shrubs. Finally got a break in the weather for a few days, hope some of this snow melts as it looks to cool back down this coming week.
I just took a long walk this weekend and found plenty of fresh sign and no dead deer, and I’m pretty sure my dog would have found the dead ones easily. Unfortunately with a few warm days I’ve seen deer hit by cars as they no doubt got out and looked for something to eat after being holed up so long. I’m in central Missouri.
In this part of Pa. we are on record as this winter being the 4th largest snow fall EVER. Thankfully a short drive in any direction will find standing corn fields. Fields that were not harvested because of the huge drop in corn prices making it more costly to harvest the corn than it is worth. We have so much snow in the fields Canada geese are landing next to the standing corn then walking down the rows eating corn still on the stalk.
I have been out a few times checking cameras and trails. The deer herd in Indiana has been on the decline for a couple of years, but there are still deer around and, it looks like they are getting through this “arctic” winter pretty well here. They are showing up on the hillsides now feeding on the grasses that have thawed out. How this winter affected the new crop of fawns remains to be seen but for now, it looks like they are still kicking here.
We just got another winter storm (mild, compared to the ones in January) last night w/another 3-5″. I don’t have the statistics for my town, but this is the most snow I can remember. We had the infamous Blizzard of ’78, but that came late into the winter that year. (Weird update: I just looked out my back window at my back yard and saw two ROBINS…!!!! How ironic is that??) Back to my winter report. I believe there is around 20″ of snow on the ground here, and it’s really been here since about Jan. 6. I have noticed deer browsing quite a bit while I’m driving down roads, etc. There are some areas where waste grain is available, but I think they’re relying mainly on browse here.
Here is the good news. It is supposed to be warm enough for some melting here in the next couple days, BUT the ground is frozen so the water is merely going to cause flooding in our creeks, rivers, fields, etc. Then it is supposed to cool off again. The snow is so deep at my buddy’s farm that I haven’t put my cameras out, because the deer are yarded up somewhere other than his property. I have not been to my other property since around Christmas. Without snowshoes, a snowmobile, etc. it is a complete cardio-workout just to walk one hundred yards. It is crazy. I would also guess we’ve had record numbers of days below freezing here. When it gets into the 30s it seems like it’s warm and springlike outside.
I do see deer here doing o.k., but we still have several weeks of this (unless those Robins know something we don’t).
It’s been as cold as -15 this year (-30 with wind chills) and we’re averaging 11 degrees below normal for February here in Southern Indiana. So it’s been way colder than usual.
Having said that…..I’ve been watching the same 9 does out my back door all Winter and they seem to be just fine. I see them a couple of times a week, picking around in a harvested soybean field and they aren’t thin or sickly looking @ all.
I think sometimes we forget that deer have been getting by without our help for a long time and while some will die off in harsh Winters, it’s just nature’s way.