In the US, white-tailed deer were originally transported to restore populations that were “shot out” during the early 20th century. Today, land managers continue to move deer from one area to another, but not just to restore populations. The driving force behind today’s deer translocations is primarily twofold: to augment low-density deer populations and to promote genetic improvement. However, a third option for translocation is an alternative to harvest — to manage overabundant populations; remove deer found in high deer-density urban areas, transport them, and release them elsewhere.
But regardless of why deer are moved, how do they cope? What is the survival rate and performance of transported deer after they are “liberated” at their release site? These are good questions and a study out of Texas A&M University-Kingsville hopes to answer them. We know that for a translocation program to be successful we need two things, a high survival of released deer and for the animals to remain in the area where they were released. Without achieving these two objectives, the overall goal will not be met. Continue reading “Movement and Survival of Translocated Deer”