12 07, 2017

How Bad Was The Mule Deer Winterkill?

2020-06-10T09:16:11-04:00July 12th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Management, Deer Science, Mule Deer|1 Comment

I recently attended the 2017 North American Deer Summit, where Jim Heffelfinger of the Arizona Game and Fish Department reported on the status of the mule deer across the American West. Jim said that while mule deer went through tough times in recent years, the good news is that muley populations have been trending up, and are stable or increasing slightly in most states. But Jim did point to the hard, snowy winter of 2016-17 in some regions of the West, saying that "will lead to a dip in deer numbers this year in some states." Well, turns out it will be quite a big dip in places. U.S. News and World Reports has just published a compilation of how [...]

10 07, 2017

Indiana Deer Covered With Warts

2020-06-10T09:16:11-04:00July 10th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|2 Comments

Cameron sent me this image via Twitter: I was driving down the road and saw her. Got out and walked within 15 yards and filmed with my phone. I retweeted the picture and dozens of people want to know what is going on here. Biologists say that these growths, commonly called “deer warts,” are cutaneous fibromas and they are caused by a virus. The virus could be transmitted from one deer to another by biting insects, just like bluetongue is transmitted. The warts are hairless tumors that can be found on any part of the skin, but they rarely extend below the hide. They are usually temporary on the body and can vary from 1/2 to 8 inches in diameter, [...]

14 06, 2017

2017 Deer Update: How Are Mule Deer Doing?

2020-06-10T09:16:12-04:00June 14th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Management, Deer Science, Mule Deer|Comments Off on 2017 Deer Update: How Are Mule Deer Doing?

At the 2017 North American Deer Summit last week, Jim Heffelfinger of the Arizona Game and Fish Department reported on the status of the mule deer across the American West. Mule deer went through tough times in the 1990s, and populations declined in many areas. More than 20 years later most people still think mule deer numbers are down, “but actually there’s good news,” said Jim. “Mule deer populations have been trending up, and are stable or increasing slightly in most states.” Jim pointed to Utah, Idaho and California as bright spots, with herds on the slight rise. But he did acknowledge that the winter of 2016 was brutal in parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, where there should be [...]

12 06, 2017

2017 Whitetail Report: How Are The Deer Doing?

2020-06-10T09:16:12-04:00June 12th, 2017|Big Deer Stories, Big Deer TV, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Management, Deer Science|1 Comment

I recently returned from the 2017 North American Deer Summit, a two-day event where the top deer biologists and scientists in the nation gather to discuss the health of our herds and the future of hunting. First on the agenda: How are whitetail deer doing across the U.S.? QDMA biologist Kip Adams kicked off the discussion with some good news. After several tough years (2011-2014) when winters were harsh in some regions and big outbreaks of EHD  killed substantial numbers of deer in other areas, things are looking up for America’s most popular and widespread game animal. Kip pointed out that the buck harvest is up 4% (hunters in America shoot some 2.7 million bucks every fall). Furthermore, the percentage [...]

2 06, 2017

Can a Whitetail Buck Have Two Home Ranges?

2020-06-10T09:16:29-04:00June 2nd, 2017|Big Deer Stories, BigDeer, Deer Hunting, Deer Science|2 Comments

Ninety-nine percent of bucks have a home range of a mile or so where they spend 95% of their time year-round. The boys venture out of their core areas once in a while, especially during the November rut, when they often leave for days or weeks on doe excursions. But they eventually come back home where they feel safe and comfortable. Of course there is the rogue buck. Researchers with Pennsylvania’s Deer-Forest Study monitored GPS-collared Buck 12783, which had 2 distinct home ranges. Source:Penn State College Agricultural Sciences In the image above, his main home range is the eastern (right side) mass of blue. To the west is a “vacation home” that he used for 2 years. The researchers believe [...]

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