Southern Wyominig - Early Winter Deer Kill

[mallardsx2]

I'm friends with a guy who lives in southern Wyoming and he told me that fawns are dying left and right due to the frigid temperatures last week.

Is anyone else seeing this? He said its a sad state of affairs.

 

[go_deep]

Where specifically in Wyoming? All the deer look great around Cheyenne, I was in the Snowy Mts a week ago, looked great the too.

 

[mallardsx2]

Just North of Saratoga.

 

[go_deep]

I'm sure a couple didn't like mid last week, but if their dying from this weather they'll likely die anyway.

 

[Conrad8899]

Wife and I where down this weekend trying to fill her cow tag.. Deer we saw looked good...

 

[HiMtnHnter]

I can't image a little cold spell in October killing a lot of deer. The deer I've seen look fine.

 

[ScottR]

The further West and South seems to be what has struggled the last few winters. Unfortunately the vast majority of us only get snapshots of a unit every season let alone a complete picture so it is really tough to judge based on a couple of reports. Same basins two weeks apart can even be tough to judge. When the mortality reports come out after people walk multiple areas counting winter killed deer is when I tend to get concerned.

Long term management wise I am really excited to see how all of these studies on mule deer migration are going reveal. I am hoping it helps us set dates and quotas based on what is actually going on rather than a lot of assumptions about where deer are moving from.

 

[ScottR]

The further West and South seems to be what has struggled the last few winters. Unfortunately the vast majority of us only get snapshots of a unit every season let alone a complete picture so it is really tough to judge based on a couple of reports. Same basins two weeks apart can even be tough to judge. When the mortality reports come out after people walk multiple areas counting winter killed deer is when I tend to get concerned.

Long term management wise I am really excited to see how all of these studies on mule deer migration are going reveal. I am hoping it helps us set dates and quotas based on what is actually going on rather than a lot of assumptions about where deer are moving from.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

ari-ZONE-a 85deg today,Deer are mighy tasty.

 

[Prerylyon]

I was quite a ways further north in the Bighorn Basin last week around Hyattville and all the critters I saw (deer, antelope, elk) looked to be in great shape. I'm no expert in ecology, but much of the browse (forbs?) on the winter ranges on the BLM looked to be ample as well. Its still early though. It was brutally cold up there around the last week of October; so much so I pushed my hunt out a week for more sensible weather.

 

[ScottR]

It was cold earlier this week on our side of the basin. We had a really wet spring though and forage looks to be in really good shape.