Walking with deer

We slip quietly through the hemlocks and cedars, a dusting of new snow muffling our approach. Cameras are ready, but our viewfinders capture only rumps and white flags. The deer are spooked easily this morning. We’ve just been discussing a theory that deer are more skittish when their populations are down. Does instinct tell them to be even more cautious, because the fewer their numbers, the greater the threat to the herd’s survival? No one knows for sure, but there’s evidence of it this morning. I’m in the bush with Erin MacDonald, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) biologist at Bancroft, and Steve Lawrence, a long-time wildlife technician. We’re in a winter yarding area south of Bancroft to observe deer at their toughest time of year. “It’s winter habitat that is make it or break it for deer,” says Erin. Where deer yard up, predators are not far off. Steve Lawrence finds a scrap from a recent wolf or coyote kill. She explains that deer congregate in winter yarding areas mainly to improve their mobility. These are usually areas of thick conifers where the snow is not nearly as deep as on the deciduous ridges or other open areas. Easy movement through snow allows the deer to forage more widely and provides more chance to flee wolves and coyotes. The evergreens also provide thermal shelter from the wind and cold. A Time of Hunger Food is not plentiful in winter yards. There are no tender greens or sweet tree nuts. The deer are limited to whatever sapling buds are there, plus branches from cedars and hemlocks. In severe winters, when starvation stalks them, they will eat bark from trees, even though it provides no significant nutrition. Adult deer eat up to 8.8 pounds of green plants daily in summer, but in winter their metabolism slows to a near stop and they can go days without eating. Deer yarding is much debated at fall hunt camps. When do deer go to their yards? Do they all go at the same time? How long do they stay in their yarding areas? It Doesn’t Take Much Erin provides some facts. Almost all deer head for yards when the snow comes. The movement usually begins when depths reach about 20 centimetres. MNRF studies show they remain in the yards until the snow drops to about 2.5 centimetres, so the move back to summer