Too much habitat loss, and too few predators

[stuny]

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Deer seem to be just about everywhere, day and night.

 

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[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Stuart,

 

Nice photos.

 

Actually, in the case of deer: After calculating the increase in population because of the lack of previously existant predators that have been eliminated by people:

 

1 of the other reasons for the increase in the deer population is the INCREASE in habitat.

 

500 years ago the USofA East of the Mississippi, up to the Atlantic Coast, was pretty much covered with forests.

 

White tail deer are happiest in the meadows. Altho, at times they may hide, or otherwise spend time in the forest.

 

With the conversion of a large portion of the Eastern Seaboard into housing in Suburbia:

 

People have created a new meadow system for deer which is called people's Suburban Backyards.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[fotografr]

Simple solution. Import a few cougars.

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Brent,

 

Actually, the major predator of white tail deer in many areas were groups of wolves.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[MEB]

Michael has accurately described what has happened to the deer population in the State of Michigan.  In the 1850s and before, Michigan was heavily forested and there were very few deer (estimated in the low thousands).  When logging started and land opened up the population soared to about 1 million by the 1870s.  Unregulated hunting again reduced the population to a few thousand by the early 1880s but then the state imposed hunting controls and the population soared to about 1.25 million by the 1930s.  The population has continued to rise until in the late 1980s the population rose to about 2 million and then the herd suffered because of the population pressures.  There were diseases (chronic wasting disease) and many more car/deer accidents than normal.  Today, the Department of Natural Resources tries to use variable hunting regulations to maintain a healthy deer herd of around 1.3 to 1.5 million. 

 

Incidentally, my neighbor, who has a wonderful garden, swears that most of the deer herd is living off of her plants.  I have a photograph of two does looking over my backyard fence into my yard to see if the grass is really greener!  We don't have any wolves in my part of the state but we do have coyotes.  I assume that they will take deer...particularly young ones, if they can.

 

Mark

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Mark,

 

1 thing about the human settlement of this Planet that is sometimes overlooked is that: People, as apex predators, often eradicate, as much as possible, other competitive apex predators living in the new regions that the people settle in. Without otherwise equivalently filling the "niches" that the other apex predators had filled before.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[stuny]

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Brent, Michael & Mark -

 

Thank you.