Deer Overpopulation Causes Problems in Texas

Deer Overpopulation Plagues Hollywood Park iin San Antonio

Everyone loves white-tailed deer, right? Wrong. Deer cause millions of dollars in damage each year in the United States, so it should come as no surprise that some people downright despise them. Just ask some of the automobile insurers. The problem of deer overpopulation continues to plague one are of San Antoniono, Texas, known as Hollywood Park. But for every person that wants the deer removed, there is another that loves these wild animals. As such, there have been efforts to thin out the suburb’s deer population, but they have been met with opposition from everyone from animal-loving residents to state bureaucrats, city deer control expert Will Mangum told City Council on March 16.

“Some area ranchers were interested in taking our deer,” Mangum told council about the just completed deer season, “but none had received permits, because their paperwork came in too late.” He says it is far more complex than simply picking up Hollywood Park’s deer and depositing them onto a ranch.

“The ranchers first need to contact their wildlife biologist, who surveys the land and provides specific permits on how many bucks and how many does they can take. They then need to get a release site permit from the state. We’re powerless without the RSP.”

Continue reading Deer Overpopulation Causes Problems in Texas

Whitetail Deer Hunting Was Texas Tough

White-tailed deer hunting is a big deal in Texas, but hunters had a tough time of it this year in the Lone Star State. “The best estimate is that harvest is down by 30-35 percent this year,” said Alan Cain, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife district leader from Pleasanton of the South Texas harvest. Some locker plants that process deer are reporting deer numbers are down as much as 40-45 percent!

Cain said to blame the drop on the green-up that came following the drought. “The positive side of this is that a bunch of bucks will probably make it through the season to be available next year and with another year of age,” Cain said.He added that range conditions are still good, and once the bucks shed antlers and begin developing another set they should be healthy. Continue reading Whitetail Deer Hunting Was Texas Tough

Whitetail Deer Catches Bucket!

White-tailed Buck with Bucket Between Antlers 

White-tailed deer are amazing animals and they have adapted to live almost anywhere in the United States, from rurual to urban areas and anywhere in between. When it comes to wildlife management, deer have no problem increasing in numbers. In fact, the most important thing we can do is keep deer populations in check with their available habitat through regulated hunting. But that’s an article for another day.

With recent advances in technology, mostly motion-sensitive cameras commonly referred to as game cameras, humans can keep a close eye on what deer are doing out there in the woods. These simple game cameras are triggered by movement and then activate to take a photo. It really is a simple process, but the exciting part as the camera’s owner is never knowing what you will see until the pictures are downloaded. Continue reading Whitetail Deer Catches Bucket!

Horrible Deer-Auto Accident Photos

Deer-Auto Collisions are Big Money!

Deer are beautiful animals. Thanks to state natural resource departments and regulated hunting throughout the United States, white-tailed deer herds are at all-time highs. And although just about everyone loves watching deer, record deer herds do not register well with everyone. In fact, some people outright despise them.

Deer-auto collisions cost millions of dollars each year. As a result, deer are not very well liked by auto insurance companies, nor the drivers that hit them. They have a whole different idea about deer management. But everyone that buys auto insurance either directly or indirectly pays for deer damage caused to autombiles. When it comes to hitting deer as they cross the road, a driver can lose more than just money. Continue reading Horrible Deer-Auto Accident Photos

Case Shows How Easy CWD Could Spread

CWD could spread easier than you think 

Criminal charges recently filed against a father and son who ran a Kent County deer farm provide a shocking look at just how easy chronic wasting disease (CWD) might have spread to Michigan’s wild deer herd. Michigan Department of Natural Resources agents say a day after CWD was confirmed in a deer from their herd, the pair crept onto their quarantined farm at midnight, tranquilized a deer and loaded it into a trailer. DNR agents watching the property say they saw it all. When stopped on a road, the two told DNR officers they planned to release the deer into the wild. They didn’t have proper paperwork for the deer, and wanted to get rid of it. However, tests later showed the deer free of CWD.

The DNR recently said that it may have found the source of the always-fatal disease that’s similar to mad cow disease. The taxidermy shop next to the Kent County deer farm had accepted two deer from customers who illegally brought them from CWD zones in South Dakota and Wyoming. Continue reading Case Shows How Easy CWD Could Spread

Texas to Expand Antler Restrictions?

Will antler restriction regulations expand in Texas? 

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is look at changing up the State’s hunting regulations. The white-tailed deer proposals are part of statewide proposed hunting and fishing regulation changes for the upcoming 2009-2010 season. One key proposed change involves further expansion of the department’s successful antler restriction regulations into 52 additional counties where biologists have identified a need to provide greater protection of younger buck deer. In these counties, data indicates more than 55 percent of the harvested bucks are two-and-a-half years of age or younger, which creates an imbalance in the deer herd age structure.

According to Clayton Wolf, TPWD big game program director, the antler restrictions have improved age structure while maintaining ample hunting opportunity, based on data to date in the 61 counties where the rule is currently in effect. The impacted counties are listed below: Continue reading Texas to Expand Antler Restrictions?

Louisiana White-tailed Deer Research Continues

Deer with radio collar

A study entitled “Population Characteristics of a White-tailed Deer Herd in a Bottomland Hardwood Forest of South-central Louisiana” has entered its final year. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) and Louisiana State University (LSU) Agriculture Center have spearheaded the study with help from various contributors.

The primary objectives of the study are to assess range and movements of male and female white-tailed deer, evaluate age and sex-specific harvest rates of white-tailed deer and evaluate survival and causes of death among male and female white-tailed deer in a Louisiana bottomland hardwood forest.

Researchers are conducting the study on approximately 40,000 acres of bottomland hardwood forest located west of Baton Rouge and east of the Atchafalaya Basin. The study area is currently leased to more than 30 private hunting clubs, and each club belongs to a cooperative that promotes quality deer management on the property. A. Wilbert’s Sons L.L.C. is the primary landowner and cooperator and is also providing technical, logistical and housing support for the researchers. Continue reading Louisiana White-tailed Deer Research Continues