Deer becoming a problem?

Question

We are having some serious problems with the deer. They can't seem to stay very far away from our home. The neighbors and people in surrounding areas have had the same problem. During the last deer hunting season we have had to call the sheriffs department and the DNR to report people who where shooting at the deer but towards our house. The problem for the hunters is: The deer will not go away from the houses. A conservation officer has informed me that several cougars have been spotted in neighboring counties. Could this be why the Deer seem to want to stay within 100 yards of a house? It seems to happen more at night. I guess in a way its good sense more and more illegal hunting has been exposed. I lived here all my life and this is the first time I have ever seen anything like this! And alot of deer have been killed from being hit by cars. According to the DNR the deer population has not increased! Cougars have not been in central Indiana for nearly 200 years!

The problem is: The Deer have torn up some of the trees we planted and they tend to tear up the yard and garden during the summer. They also tend to jump out in front of you as you drive. I don't like killing animals! Nor would I! We have tried repellants but it only works for a very short period of time.

I don't hunt deer!!!!

I guess what I'm really asking is what is causing the deer to behave this way?

Answer 1

A deer's behavior is directly related to the environment he lives in. Today, in increasingly suburban areas where whitetails and people live side-by-side, humans are the driving force on deer. Our houses, roads and everyday comings and goings impact where and when deer feed, travel and bed.

American Indians believed the moon, wind and rain affected deer movements. Current studies confirm that deer activity indeed varies depending on temperature, moon phases and even barometric pressure.

Whitetails, especially mature bucks, are active at night, preferring to feed, mingle and mate under a cloak of darkness. But no deer is completely nocturnal. Otherwise, we'd never shoot a big buck! Deer remain active at dawn and start to move again at dusk.


Deer typically bed down at midday. Studies have shown that they rarely if ever bed in the same exact spot twice; perhaps that deters a predator from catching their scent and lying in wait for an easy meal the next day. Deer do not sleep for long periods of time. Rather, they dose, always trying to stay alert.

Although whitetails are social animals that are found in herds, the sexes stay largely divided. Outside the breeding season, a mature buck almost never stays with a "doe unit", or a group of does and fawns. Bucks travel alone or band together in bachelor's clubs for

Whitetails communicate with vocalizations and scents. For example, a buck trailing a doe in the rut might utter the "tending grunt." She might bleat back. A buck rub-urinates in a scrape, peeing over his tarsal glands to lay down scent that might attract a doe or challenge another male. Scientists continue to study the complexities of deer communication.


Fawns


Whitetail fawns are born in May or June. They weight 6 to 8 pounds at birth. Fawns spend their early days clinging to their mothers, bonding and learning about the big new world. Sometimes does and their offspring gather in small groups. Within these groups fawns learn to walk, run and react in the face of danger. Fawns are playful and get exercise by nudging, jumping and boxing one another with their legs and feet.


The early days and weeks are perilous for fawns. They survive best in areas with lots of cover. Fawns rely heavily on their natural camouflage. The white spots scattered across their reddish-brown bodies blend well with fallen leaves and brush. When a fawn beds down, he tucks his legs, head and neck into its body for ultimate concealment.

About the time a fawn is weaned it loses its spotted coat. It then sports grayish hair that mixes well with the deciduous forest. In winter, a fawn's coat is gray with reddish-brown tips. A male fawn's face grows darker while his belly remains white.

Does


Does travel in small groups consisting of mature females and their offspring. A group's "lead doe" tends to breed with a buck first each fall, generally in late October or November, though the timing varies by region. A dominant doe fawns first and picks the most favorable fawn-rearing area. Does like to drop fawns in thick cover and close to water.

Does live within familiar and relatively small areas all their lives. Occasionally a drastic change in the terrain (i.e. a forest fire) or harsh winter weather will force them to relocate temporarily. Doe groups occupy the same home ranges from one generation to the next.

As whitetail populations increase and the home ranges of doe groups overlap, conflicts or little "turf wars" sometimes occur. Upon the first sign of trouble from another doe, a lead doe will raise her head in alertness. If the other female comes closer, the alert doe might rush her and kick out with her front legs. A wild boxing match continues until one doe gains dominance over the other.

Most mature does breed between October and January, depending on geographical location. Whitetails mate earlier up north and as late as December or January in a few Deep South states. Does are pursued mightily by bucks for a couple of weeks. They finally stand for bucks during a 24-hour estrus cycle. Most does become pregnant the first time around, but those that don't recycle into estrus about 28 days later.

The gestation period of does is about 7 months, and they drop their fawns in May or June. Studies have shown that a doe has some control over when she gives birth. This might allow her to select a thick, safe area free of predators.

A few days before fawning, a pregnant doe separates from other does and seeks a suitable birthing area. A doe typically drops 1 or 2 fawns, though triplets are not rare. Multiple fawns are born 15 to 20 minutes apart. On average, does lose 10% to 15% of their fawns due to birth problems or defects, disease, parasites or predation.

A doe nurses her fawns frequently during the early days. After three weeks in the world, fawns begin to eat vegetation. After about 10 weeks, a doe rejects any attempt for fawns to nurse.


A fawn in distress bawls loudly. To distract a predator and lure it away from her offspring, a doe runs in wildly, shows herself and runs off in the opposite direction. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Bucks


A whitetail buck's body size depends on many factors, including age, nutrition and an area's deer population. Depending on subspecies, a mature buck may weight 100 to more than 300 pounds.

A buck's antlers are his defining feature. Antlers are actually comprised of bone, and they grow rapidly from spring through late summer. It is believed that antlers evolved as a weapon to gain dominance over other bucks. Each winter a buck sheds his antlers and grows a new pair the next spring.

Outside the breeding season whitetails are sociable by sex. Upon reaching the ripe old age of 16 months, a young buck leaves his familial doe group (his mother actually kicks him out) and disperses to a new home range miles away. He hooks up with other bucks and runs in a bachelor's club. Within this new group, he must constantly prove his worth among his peers. Through ongoing competition, a buck may rise in rank to become a herd's dominant sire.

Dominance is important to bucks. A large buck will stare down opponents. Out of fear, lesser bucks won't dare make eye contact. However, if a brave opponent steps forward, the two duelers crash head to head and lock antlers. A fight ensues until one buck backs down or runs off injured.

A dominant buck's demeanor is proud and unafraid, especially when he postures for does and other bucks during the fall breeding period. With head held high and tail extended straight back, he seems to prance around. Dark hair tufts on an old buck's lower hind legs become erect and move rhythmically to dispense the deer's unique glandular scent. This scent distinguishes the buck as the king of the herd.

A mature buck inhabits a relatively small home range (500 to 3,000 acres) for most of the year, but he travels widely during the rut. A free-roaming buck brimming with testosterone is sometimes called a "dominant floater." Big, healthy bucks lose weight and become stressed out from chasing does and challenging other bucks. Deer enter the post-rut with low fat reserves, and some may perish during a long, harsh winter

Answer 2

The deer population doesn't need to increase. If the size of their habitat decreases, then there is going to be a problem concerning the size of the deer population. You can hardly blame the deer when people are the cause, taking away the land the deer live on so that they can build things there.

Edit: I already told you why the deer are behaving this way, I don't know how much clearer I can be. They are being pushed out by people but they have to go somewhere, so what should they do and what do you expect them to do? Should they just lay down and die? How much simpler do you need an answer to be?

Answer 3

I am in southern Illinois and here the deer have
certainly increased their population, as I would bet
they have in Indiana, also. Deer had been completely eliminated from Illinois at one time, or
so I have been told. Recently we had two seasons
of does actually attacking people on our campus
when they got close to the fawns! Finally the
attacking doe was shot by a campus policeman who was protecting someone else being attacked.

If deer are allowed to become abundant enough
they eventually eat up all the available food and then starve to death. This has happened in a
couple of places where the natural predators have
been removed. I am currently hearing rumors of
mountain lions being present in southern Illinois,
also, so maybe the abundance of deer will permit
predator populations to build up enough to exert
some control on the deer numbers.

Answer 4

The deer are behaving like this because the balance of the ecosystem in your area has been upset. Without predators like wolves and cougar.. the deer have no population control. They start to encroach upon civilisation because they have exhausted the available habitat in the wild.... over-browsing their food sources causes them to change their eating habits and find food in residential areas where no other herbivores have learned to exploit as of yet. This has happened in Southern Ontario Canada because farming has exterminated the large predators in the area... the result is an excess of deer that feed on whatever they like, have near zero mortality in the wild and basically have nothing to balance things out. In recent years the government has had to nearly pay people to come and hunt the deer because they are so out of control... it also has resulted in more Ticks in the area, more deer related car accidents and alot more deer destroying peoples gardens and crops... Until we restore the balance and bring back the deer predators specifically Wolves... things will only get worse. Thats what we get for killing off all the predators out of fearful superstition... we NEED wolves to control the populations of ungulates.

Answer 5

More and more habitat is being developed and as a result the deer are living in urban areas. In most places the natural carnivores of the deer have been eliminated such as the wolf and the cougar. Now that you see them again,(the cougars) they may start to keep the deer numbers in check, although this is very unsetteling to people, especially if you do not know how to hike around wild animals as many of us do not.

Answer 6

Sorry ot hear of this!
I jsut moved from suburban to rural, and I don't know much.
But I still gotta ask, have people tried all the odor repellants?
The deer stay away from our front garden because of moth balls!
I think moth balls are probably not going to win out over cougars...
but if you can get them to shy away on the same day that professional population management teams can assemble, then you might be able to take out a lot of deer.
And reduce road kill.
I just hit my first deer, as a pssenger on a very foggy New Year's DAy 530 pm.
It's dangerous, even though it breaks my heart to suggest killing them!

Answer 7

What exactly is the problem? Do you want them to leave? It is illegal to shoot within 1/4 mile of a house already. If you want the deer to leave, there are lots of deer reppellents you can buy, most are garlic oil based. Or, get some human hair from a barber shop, and scatter it around where you don't want them. If you like them, why is it a problem that they are near your house?

Answer 8

we have the same problem but we don`t have cougars in RI i think that the deer know when hunting season is stay close to houses.we`ve even had them in the yard eating the sunflower seed from the bird feeders,they aren`t afraid of our dog[150 lb rotti] unless he goes out,but they don`t go far.i think with land development they have nowhere else to go

Answer 9

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T KILL THEM!!!!!!! THEY'RE GOD'S CREATURES, AND EVEN IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD OR ANYTHING, THEY'RE STILL LIVING, BREATHING CREATURES!!!!!!!!!!! THEY'RE JUST TRYING SOMEWHERE SAFE!!!! HELP THEM DON'T HATE THEM!!!!