Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:19:44 -0500
From: Tom Winecoff
Subject: Deer over-population
Do we have an overpopulation of deer? Probably. Should we harvest more to control the population?
NO!
Nature seems to work really well when left alone. Wouldn’t you agree?
The reason we have an overpopulation, or so it seems, may be due to several factors. All pale in comparison to one.
Reason #1: Deer are hunted.
We love to watch the deer in our yard. We feed them and recognize many from previous sightings. I’m sure I’d recognize the albino fawn that was mentioned in an earlier post by
the taxidermist.
If you are like us, we watch them in amazement and really get excited when we see a buck! Our neighbors are the same way. We even have discussions about how many bucks we saw, (or really how few if you thought about).
Now how do you suppose hunting deer increases the population? Well consider this….
The only kill a hunter wants to make, is the one with the most ‘points’. We’re talking antlers. Go to Food Lion and look at the hunting magazines. See any hunters with a ‘doe’ draped across the tailgate of their truck?
It doesn’t take many bucks to service all the ‘does’ in the area. Lucky buck for a while!
Most hunters I have had this discussion with agree that bucks are ‘harvested’ at a rate of about 5 to 1. It’s probably a higher rate, don’t cha know!
Oh, just in case you still don’t get it…..’Does’ are the females. They produce the offspring.
Obie T.