Idaho Mule Deer Winter Survival Rates

[Sumpnneedskillin]

Just saw this come across my FB from one of the local news stations

It was a harsh winter—especially for mule deer.

The Idaho Fish and Game announcing earlier this week that hunters wills see fewer hunting opportunities for mule deer does in the fall. Fish and Game expect the lowest survival of mule deer fawns in 18 years.

By mid march, about 50% of mule deer fawns wearing radio collars have died, and more are expected to die. Fish and Game is responding by reducing the 2017 and 2018 antlerless and either-sex harvest for mule deer. Whitetail and elk are both faring far better.

[WA hunter14]

I don't know how they can say whitetail are doing far better, Im finding so many dead whitetail while horn hunting it's disgusting. Many of them haven't even had a bite taken out of them from anything not even coyotes. They're dropping like flies over here if they aren't next to town where people feed them. About half of the dead deer I'm finding are yearlings and the other half are almost all bucks that shed their antlers and sometime after just laid down and died.

[lewy]

I've heard from a really good source its 90% fawn mortality

[lord grizzly]

https://idfg.idaho.gov/press/fg-will-offer-more-elk-hunting-opportunities-2017-fewer-mule-deer-tags


fawns took a hit, calves did better and adults seem to have faired well.

[TriggerMike]

I've heard from a really good source its 90% fawn mortality

Does your really good source work for the IDFG?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[jjhunter]

I am super bummed that many of the trophy mule deer units were severely impacted   

[Duckslayer89]

I don't know how they can say whitetail are doing far better, Im finding so many dead whitetail while horn hunting it's disgusting. Many of them haven't even had a bite taken out of them from anything not even coyotes. They're dropping like flies over here if they aren't next to town where people feed them. About half of the dead deer I'm finding are yearlings and the other half are almost all bucks that shed their antlers and sometime after just laid down and died.

Ya I expect them to keep the any deer tag for the whitetail to. Would really like to see it go to any buck