Touching the wild pbs show

OregonJim

Very Active Member
Feb 19, 2014
795
0
Oregon Coast
So I was switching channels last night (while Eastmans Forums was down) and I stumbled upon a show.
The show was about the relationship between Joe Hutto and a herd of Mule Deer near Lander WY.

I got sucked in quickly by the Mule Deer footage and the fact that I'll be hunting just a few miles away this fall.
The basic theme was that MULE DEER ARE IN TROUBLE.
It was done very much in a naturalist theme but was pretty well done.
It spent some time on predators (wolves/cats) and although it showed some hunters harvesting animals it wasn't really anti-hunter.
Overall I enjoyed it but I had some critical comments.
(1) Joe Hutto never really spelled out why they were in trouble. He covered a lot of things but never went into some areas that I felt he should have (development, reduction in habitat etc).
(2) The harvested buck (that he actually helped recover) was said to be 7 years old and observed (by Joe) as a fawn. It really looked older to me.
(3) Finally; it was very obvious that he had grown extremely close to the herd. I just find it disturbing that he zeroed the herd location down to a couple of square miles. That just seemed inconsistent. Maybe he picked a cool name and threw a curve on the actual location, but I think he gave up the winter range for his "family" herd.

Wondering if anyone else caught it and what they thought?
Be prepared it is pretty cuddly but I thought it was worth the time watching.
 
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James K. Arnold

New Member
Sep 5, 2014
11
0
Victor, Idaho, United States
Mule deer are in trouble in most of their range in the west. I saw that show too, and thought it was great, however as a biologist he had kinda crossed the line. Hard not to when studying deer and their family structures for so long like he did. In my state of Idaho fish and game started the mule deer initiative about 10 years ago to determine reasons for the decline, and address these. In my opinion the causes are many: oil/gas development, roads & traffic, development in winter range areas, predation from wolves and others, habitat destruction, global warming, and generally just more people in the west than there has been historically. Mulie's don't tolerate disturbance as well as white tails that can thrive in and around people on the edges of suburbia. Mulie ranges are much larger and migrations are sometimes near 100 miles.
 

AT Hiker

Very Active Member
Aug 2, 2012
638
0
Tennessee
It is actually on Netflix too.

Interesting show I thought. I am a muley virgin, only been hunting them for 4 years now. In that short time I have seen an increase of hunters on huntable public land which has caused a decrease of animals on those public lands. Some habitats are barren from over grazing to the point that Im not sure how it will recover.

It appears CO mule deer are doing good, or am I wrong? I have not hunted CO yet. If they are doing OK, then what is different about CO than other Western states?
 

HiMtnHnter

Active Member
Sep 28, 2012
445
4
Wyoming
It is actually on Netflix too.

Interesting show I thought. I am a muley virgin, only been hunting them for 4 years now. In that short time I have seen an increase of hunters on huntable public land which has caused a decrease of animals on those public lands. Some habitats are barren from over grazing to the point that Im not sure how it will recover.

It appears CO mule deer are doing good, or am I wrong? I have not hunted CO yet. If they are doing OK, then what is different about CO than other Western states?
Colorado has more mule deer habitat than any other state, and far more than most states. Colorado doesn't have a general deer hunt, and they make you pick a season. Just to name few things. . .
 

AT Hiker

Very Active Member
Aug 2, 2012
638
0
Tennessee
Colorado has more mule deer habitat than any other state, and far more than most states. Colorado doesn't have a general deer hunt, and they make you pick a season. Just to name few things. . .

Interesting insight, one I cannot argue with either. Makes sense to me. Kinda like my home state, we can kill 3 WT bucks all season and in my region we can kill 3 doe per day. You cross the state line in KY and your chances of a B&C increase 100%...there rules are way different than ours.