Do Predators Really Kill Large Numbers of Deer Fawns?
Most all scientific studies conducted during the past 30 years have documented predation, largely by coyotes, as the leading cause of whitetail fawn mortality. Leading hunters to run out and buy AR .223s and holler, "Gonna save a fawn and kill every coyote I see!" But wait a second. Sure, coyotes eat some little deer, but maybe not as many as once thought. “Predation may have less of an impact than we think,” writes Justin Dion in this article posted to the National Deer Association’s website. In the springs of 2016 and 2017, Dion and his fellow researchers at the University of Delaware captured and collared 109 newborn fawns in Sussex County in the southern portion of the state. The [...]