Wyoming Winter Kill article

LanceS4803

LanceS4803

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Holy crap:
"Reportedly, there were no surviving fawns and only 20 percent of the adults made it through the winter. Not only is last year's fawn crop gone, but the surviving does most likely either aborted or resorbed the fetuses that would have been born this spring.
Two years of reproduction lost."

Could the Wyoming winter have been avoided? Feeding deer?
 
Arguably, the greatest mule deer herd in North America.
Coming off back to back severe droughts, developments and disease on top of the severe winter spelled disaster.
I'm not a biologist but it is all hind sight at this point. Looking back, feeding them most definitely wouldn't have hurt, at least I don't think so.

Doom and gloom might be the immediate future but I'm optimistic.
 
Been seeing reports on Monster muleys that the winter kill isn't quite as bad as 80%. but yes, I would expect nearly 100% fawn mortality from last year and near 100% of the does that survived to have aborted their fetuses before spring. It's going to take 5-7 years of perfect range conditions for deer to recover. Another harsh winter and they will be on the endangered species list.

WY needs to really look at not only eliminating all doe tags, reducing buck tags (which they have done), but also to impose antler restrictions to protect the young bucks which did survive last winter.
 
megalomaniac said:
Been seeing reports on Monster muleys that the winter kill isn't quite as bad as 80%. but yes, I would expect nearly 100% fawn mortality from last year and near 100% of the does that survived to have aborted their fetuses before spring. It's going to take 5-7 years of perfect range conditions for deer to recover. Another harsh winter and they will be on the endangered species list.

WY needs to really look at not only eliminating all doe tags, reducing buck tags (which they have done), but also to impose antler restrictions to protect the young bucks which did survive last winter.
Click to expand...
I believe the 80% comes from collard data. "Up to 80%" but what I read a month ago it was less than 50% dead.
 
There is way more going on and on a nationwide level than most are willing to admit. Ive said it before and I will say it again, Ive traveled this country more than most people and I see it EVERYWHERE. From Texas, to Nebraska, to Montana, to Tennessee, to Iowa, to Indiana, to Illinois, its the same everywhere. WIldlife is decimated. Deer, turkeys, pretty much ALL wildlife is at a turning point for the worse. If you dont travel its easy to say "well its EHD, its drought, its CWD, its whatever, but the fact remains, OUR wildlife is on a downward spiral and I think its all part of a bigger plan to starve us into submission.
 
Terrible news.
For WY, I only have points for pronghorn. Their winter kill was very location specific, but that just means more pressure for tags.
 
Antelope should bounce back fairly quickly. On good moisture years common for them to have 3 fawns
 
LanceS4803 said:
Terrible news.
For WY, I only have points for pronghorn. Their winter kill was very location specific, but that just means more pressure for tags.
Click to expand...
It just happened to be the greatest mule deer herd on planet earth though 😞
 
I just applied for MT again a few minutes ago. The MT fish and wildlife folks called me after last year and they seemed genuinely concerned with what I had to say. I explained that I had seen the deer herd there go from feast to famine in the last 6 years and when asked what they should do, I said ELIMINATE DOE TAGS! It appears they listened but I fear its too late already. NO does are allowed this year on public land! Its at least a step in the right direction.
 
Huntaholic said:
There is way more going on and on a nationwide level than most are willing to admit. Ive said it before and I will say it again, Ive traveled this country more than most people and I see it EVERYWHERE. From Texas, to Nebraska, to Montana, to Tennessee, to Iowa, to Indiana, to Illinois, its the same everywhere. WIldlife is decimated. Deer, turkeys, pretty much ALL wildlife is at a turning point for the worse. If you dont travel its easy to say "well its EHD, its drought, its CWD, its whatever, but the fact remains, OUR wildlife is on a downward spiral and I think its all part of a bigger plan to starve us into submission.
Click to expand...
you think people are killing them?
 
RoyalPrudent said:
you think people are killing them?
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Yeah, the people we let steal this country. How else are you going to get rural people to fall in line and do what you say, other than to starve them into submission. I believe covid is way more deadly to animals than we have been led to believe, way more deadly than it is to people. After all, it IS an animal born and mutated virus. It started in pigs, not bats, not people, and it was 100% fatal. First known case of this type of covid was in pigs at a commercial pork production facility in china. I forget how many THOUSAND pigs died from it in a matter of hours, yet not a single factory worker caught it at that time.
 
Huntaholic said:
Yeah, the people we let steal this country. How else are you going to get rural people to fall in line and do what you say, other than to starve them into submission. I believe covid is way more deadly to animals than we have been led to believe, way more deadly than it is to people. After all, it IS an animal born and mutated virus. It started in pigs, not bats, not people, and it was 100% fatal. First known case of this type of covid was in pigs at a commercial pork production facility in china. I forget how many THOUSAND pigs died from it in a matter of hours, yet not a single factory worker caught it at that time.
Click to expand...
I think you are on to something.
I live in middle TN, and during the summer months I used to have the absolutely best flock of Ruby Throated Hummingbirds you've ever seen. They always showed up within the first 10 days of Apri. By mid July - mid August I would be filling up 12 feeders daily! Yes, that is not a misprint.
Would have 80-100 birds at my feeders all day long during that stretch. By October 7th they'd be gone, migrating for winter.
I observed this for the first 13 years I lived out here until the Spring of 2020. I noticed by mid April that there were NO birds, by summer time when it should have looked like a swarm, but I had 2-3 birds and that is it. There was no habit change around where I live, I checked some of the other folks around my community, same report, NO Birds! I totally believe COVID had EVERYTHING to do with bird loss. And…
They have never returned.
 

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