winter deer – The Outdoors Guy

January 15, 2016

Dogs a hazard for wintering deer

Winter weather(regardless how severe) is tough on white-tailed deer populations and domestic dogs on the loose will only exacerbate the situation. (Don’t get me wrong I am a huge dog lover, but I agree that man’s best friend has no place in the wild pestering the whitetail herd)

You may recall my story from a few winters past where a barking howl of a animal in my back field broke the early morning silence. At first I thought it was a coyote but the distinctive domestic canine sound reverberated.

Dammit!!

One of my neighbour’s dogs had apparently gotten loose and was chasing deer through my backfield!! My heart sank as I knew the implications.

The deer I was feeding at the time included an orphaned fawn and a buck with a bad leg (pictured above) were not seen again for more than a week.

I never did locate that pestering dog, but evidently it really put the run on my deer, as the lame buck finally returned to the feeder limping worse than I’d ever seen. He could barely walk at this point.

Less than 3 weeks later that same buck could walk no more and the Ottawa Police were called-in to have it put down.

The incident is a reminder of why we MUST control our pets, especially during wintertime.

Pet owners who allow their animals to run wild -regardless of the breed – are NOT ONLY breaking the law, their actions can be devastating for deer at a fragile time of year. MNRF Conservation Officers deal with belligerent pet-owners every winter and are authorized to destroy any dogs seen chasing or injuring deer in areas where herds gather for the winter.

Penalties for allowing your dog to be at large during the closed season for deer, range from $155 up to $25,000.

Both domestic and feral dogs can create undue stress for whitetails as they gather in yards for protection. At this time of year, when deer subsist largely off fat reserves, the simple act of running through deep snow for long periods can drain much needed energy reserves, and leave the animals unable to cope with cold winter temperatures.

Winter stress is also directly proportional to the health of fawns born in the spring.

Should you witness any dogs on the loose in your area, please call 1-877-TIPS-MNRF (613) 847-7667 toll-free any time.

Outdoorsguy

February 7, 2014

Tough times for our white-tailed deer

As most of us have feared, this winter looks like it could be a doozy for our white-tailed deer population. I suppose after a handful of mild winters we are now paying our dues, so to speak.

And bitter cold temperatures this year are the least of the deer’s problem. They can handle the cold but it’s the snow I’m worried about!

Snow conditions, with a weak crust formed by our mid-winter melt and pack, make travel and escape more difficult than usual. So far, we are a long way off the massive snow depth experienced back in 2008- 2009, but with higher than average snowfall this winter and a meagre crust unable to support a deer’s weight, times are tough indeed!

Our friend imacdon has witnessed the results first-hand in these graphic deer kill images taken around his property:

It is very disappointing to think that after more than 5 years of a population on the rebound, our whitetail herd could be in store for another big hit.

And with a healthy, relatively uncontrolled, predator population in eastern ON and western QC our whitetails will need to pull out all the stops this year in order to survive. Since December my trailcams have captured scant few deer images, even in the whitetail wintering area. The number of coyote images captured has; however, remained steady.

I know I am crossing my fingers for the deer this year….and my toes too!

So, what can we do to help? Here are three options (I’ve been practising option #2)

1)Backyard feeding

When carried out properly, supplemental deer feeding is a wonderful past-time and can be of benefit to these animals when snow depth reaches more than 1 metre. Finding the proper balance between protein and fibre for the deer’s diet can be tricky and without knowing it many backyard feeders may actually be hurting the animal’s chances of survival. If you had not started a feeding program during early season, it is probably too late to start now, as the animal’s digestive system would have needed to adapt to the supplemented diet.

2)Improved Access and predator control

There are other ways we can help deer during the colder months besides feeding. By creating new access trails and cutting fresh browse, we greatly increase their food availability and expand travel corridors. A network of hard-packed trails will serve as escape routes from predators. By improving access to winter habitat and cutting additional feed, we go a long way to helping these animals make it through the winter. For folks who are looking to help deer this winter, perhaps get out for a little coyote hunting in areas where it is permitted. It is a challenging sport and less predators around would also help the deer’s chance of survival.

3) Call upon MNR for assistance

Through the Emergency Deer Feeding Program – The MNR ‘s Snow Network for Ontario Wildlife looks at risk assessment and on the very rare occasion will implement an emergency feeding program in certain areas. Over the past 15 years, I believe I’ve only seen this program implemented once! During the winters of 2008-2009 when RECORD snowfall was recorded in Central Canada, no measures were put in place to provide aid to whitetail deer in Ontario. An estimated 30% of the population died-off in just two years!

For more information on the Snow Network for Ontario Wildlife:

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@fw/documents/document/mnr_e001298.pdf

Outdoorsguy

December 16, 2013

Dogs hazardous for whitetails during winter

Winter weather is tough enough on white-tailed deer populations, and domestic dogs on the loose will only exacerbate the situation!

I can recall one morning a couple of winters ago as I was leaving for work, the howl of a barking animal in the back field broke the early morning silence. At first I thought it was a coyote but its distinctive domestic canine sound reverberated.

One of my neighbour’s dogs had apparently gotten loose and was chasing deer through the field!

My heart sank as I knew the implications. The deer I was feeding at the time, which included an orphaned fawn and a buck with a bad leg (pictured above) were not seen again for more than a week.

I never did locate the dog, but evidently it had put the run on them good as my lame buck returned limping worse than ever. Less than 3 weeks later that same buck could walk no more and the Ottawa Police were called-in to have it put down.

The incident was a first-hand reminder of why we must control our pets especially during wintertime!

Pet owners who allow their animals to run wild -regardless of the breed – are not only breaking the law, their actions can be devastating for deer at a fragile time of year. MNR Conservation Officers deal with belligerent pet-owners every winter and are authorized to destroy any dogs observed chasing or injuring deer in areas where herds gather for the winter. Penalties for allowing your dog to be at large during the closed season for deer, range anywhere from $155 up to $25,000.

Both domestic and feral dogs can create undue stress for whitetails as they gather in yards for protection. At this time of year, when deer subsist largely off fat reserves, the simple act of running through deep snow can drain much needed energy reserves, and leave the animals unable to cope with cold winter temperatures. Winter stress is also directly proportional to the health of fawns born in the spring.

Should you witness any dogs on the loose in your area, please call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) toll-free any time.

January 23, 2012

Misfit deer duo an unlikely winter team

Unlike other winters in my area, it seems I have a couple of regular visitors to my backyard deer feeder this year.

Back in early December coyotes claimed a deer in my neighboring property; leaving a 6-month old orphan buck fawn to fend for itself.

This little guy was wandering around aimlessly in the backfields for a couple of weeks and I feared for the worse. There was another lone doe back there I captured on trail cam and I had hopes he might eventually team up with her.

(As many people know, a fawn on its own the first winter is quite vulnerable)

But it never happened – the loan doe actually seemed to shun him, from what I could tell, so a new ‘adopted mother’ idea was out of the question.

Then by the end of December there was another deer in the back that caught my eye. It was a 3.5 year old buck I know very well. He was actually the biggest 8-pointer I have in the back, and you may have seen in earlier posts from last summer and fall.

I call him Andrew.

Well, poor Andrew wasn’t looking very good at all. He had already dropped his antlers and was acting rather peculiar (they usually shed in mid-late Jan)

I could see from trailcam images that he always held one hind leg up while feeding, and then when I saw him in person it all became very clear.

(It is worth noting that by this time of year my deer have usually moved to the upper fields to yard. I have not fed deer regularly the last two winters)

Anyhow, Andrew had what appeared to be a broken ankle. It was right above his hoof and caused him grief when walking. He had a terrible limp and walked very gingerly on the bum leg. (Had his front leg been broken instead, he’d be much better off.)

It was not the healthy and bold buck I knew from the fall, he was now a wounded soldier.

Over the next week or so, both the fawn and gimpy Andrew appeared at my deer feeder with some regularity, until eventually they started hanging out together and the oddest thing began to happen…

From observing their behavior (usually through binoculars) into January, I could see that the fawn was started to serve as Andrew’s eyes and ears. The buck would bed down while the fawn stood guard. When it came time to feed, though, hierarchy took over and the buck would nudge the fawn out of the way from time to time.

Never-the-less, they continued to travel together fulltime from the bedding area back to my feeder, and around the fields about twice a day. (Andrew’s limp has improved slightly) They make the oddest team I’ve ever seen but it appears to be working.

The unlikely duo has so far been able to stay one step ahead of the coyotes too, which is incredible.

It is one ‘symbiotic relationship’ I have never before witnessed and there’s no telling how long it will last.

It does; however, demonstrate how resilient white-tailed deer can be; learning to adapt to situations presented to them. I know I will probably take heat from some readers for continuing to provide supplemental feed for deer during the winter, but that’s ok.

Outdoorsguy

Speaking of winter feeding, here’s a photo of a nice cow elk that feeds at Carol K’s place:

Here’s another pic of the same elk..Carol K says this cow has no problem hopping over that (Goat/sheep pen) fence the elk is standing beside.