Deer population down nearly 20% after harsh winter

Deer hunting season is underway in New Brunswick, but the Department of Natural Resources is saying that last year's tough winter has already depleted the population.

The department believes the overall number of deer has dropped between 15 and 20 per cent, because of starvation.

"We know that there was quite a substantial increase in winter mortality with the deer," said deer biologist Joe Kennedy.

"A lot of the fawns didn't make it through. We expect probably 40 per cent of the fawns perished."

Kennedy said it's simply a matter of too much snow for many in the herd.

That's a sign that the deer are literally starving to death.- Joe Kennedy, deer biologist

"The deer have a difficult time feeding, they don't consume adequate food to put on fat so they're burning fat all through the winter," Kennedy explained.

"Then combine that with deep snow that they had to travel through — that caused a lot of energy loss so that the deer, not only are they losing weight anyway, but the travel through the deep snow really zapped the energy from them to the point that we've seen a lot of deer starving."

Many people contacted DNR over the past months to report finding emaciated, dead deer in the woods.

Often deer hit and killed on the province's highways had hardly any fat left, and even the fat in their bone marrow was depleted.

"That's a sign that the deer are literally starving to death," said Kennedy.

Nuisance deer fare better

It was different for the so-called nuisance deer population, the ones that stay around human populations for easier access to food.

Without having to fight through the deep snow, their numbers have stayed healthier, like those around the Kennebecasis Valley.

"Sometimes you go to Quispamsis and see a deer standing at the end of the road," said Wayne Sabean.

"They're looking both ways before they cross the street!"

Sabean runs a meat cutting and tagging station. His business is down, but he isn't blaming the weather for the poor start to the season.

"Not just the deer, but the hunters are down too," he explained. "Nobody buying licences like they used to. But I hope that there's still going to be a good year here with deer coming in being cut or tagged, whatever may be."

The fawn population born this past June was healthy, according to the department, so the recovery of the herd will depend on what kind of winter hits the province this year.

Deer hunting season ends on Nov. 21.