Point Pelee National Park to close for 2 weeks for deer cull

Parks Canada is closing Point Pelee National Park in Leamington, Ont.  from Jan. 7 to Jan. 19 for a deer cull. 

The Caldwell First Nation and staff from the park will be reducing the deer population through a cull as part of a program to restore the ecosystem there.

Deer are a "serious threat" to the forest and savannah ecosystems at the park, Parks Canada said in a media release.

It said the deer threaten the health of the Carolinian forest which contains species at risk like the dwarf hackberry and red mulberry trees.

Point Pelee can support about 24 to 32 deer but more than 100 are living there currently, Parks Canada said.

This is the second consecutive year in which the deer population has been cut at the park. In 2015 about 100 deer were eliminated. Before that, the last cull was in 2009. 

Parks Canada says it is also planting native Carolinian species and removing invasive plants to minimize threats to the park's fragile ecosystem.