Tennessee Deer Harvest - Exact Numbers (Part 1)

Tennessee deer harvest totals are ALL wrong.

How about that for an attention grabbing title?!? Although it is a somewhat inflammatory statement, it is also utterly and completely true... and this comes directly from someone who was once in charge of gathering that exact data. My hope now is that that little snippet of knowledge you just read will actually get you to read the entire article. It's not only worth reading, it's also worth understanding.

Since many states will be finalizing their deer harvest totals now or in the very near future, there will undoubtedly come break room banter regarding what these totals actually mean. And I have a sneaking suspicion few will actually understand the totals and draw proper and meaningful conclusions...but I'm here to help.

So are the Tennessee totals all wrong?

Yes, absolutely and without a doubt.

And...

...it's also absolutely without a doubt completely ALRIGHT.

In all actuality, no state knows exactly the number of deer they killed in any given year, it's simply an impossible number to identify . But here's the best part, it doesn't matter if you know the exact number or not, that number is not the important piece of data you need in order to manage a deer herd. I will get into that in a bit but first let me tell you the reason why no state knows the exact number of deer that are killed each year. Let's first start with a few other states in the Southeast.

There are many states to our south that gather their harvest data in a much different way than Tennessee. For example, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama have all been known to generate their harvest numbers by conducting hunter surveys at the end of the year. Simply put, they call up a small sample of hunters, ask them "how many deer did you kill," then they multiply that number by the number of hunters they have in their state, and voila! ...they have their total number of deer killed. I will break that down even further.

Each year, upon the conclusion of the deer season, the state of "X" calls up about a few thousand deer hunters and asks them how many bucks and does they killed. They then take the average number of kills per hunter, for example, each hunter claims they killed one buck and two does, so each hunter on average killed three deer. If they have 100,000 deer hunters in their state, they then calculate an overall harvest of 300,000 deer. Understand, I used whole numbers to demonstrate how this is calculated. In all actuality these numbers are usually much smaller and much more precise (e..g. 0.423 bucks, 0.618 does) but that is how their totals are generated. If you're interested you can read more about that here: http://www.georgiawildlife.org/node/3335

Can everyone see how this is not an exact number? The good news is it's relatively close, but again, that is not the important issue. Now let's look at Tennessee.

As everyone knows, the law requires that throughout the season, each hunter must check in any deer they killed at the end of the day. By seasons end, Tennessee reports the exact number of deer that were checked in. That number is simply how many deer were legally checked in...a bare minimum estimate of how many deer were actually killed.

Can everyone see why this number is also not correct? It is because we know for a fact that not all deer are checked in. Tennessee doesn't even know what percentage of deer are checked in whether it's 50%, 75% or 95%. Believe it or not, it doesn't matter.

Wait a minute? How the heck can you manage a deer herd if you don't know the exact number of deer that are killed?

This is one of the main differences between micro management and macro management. In other words, the difference between managing your property versus managing the state, or county for that matter. As I just demonstrated, macro management often involves "sketchy" data, you simply don't know if your numbers are correct. Knowing this, what becomes of utmost importance then is trend data. In other words, how are the numbers changing over time. Here is why this is so important.

If a state typically reports somewhere around 225,000 deer killed each year and that number stays relatively constant and then suddenly the number drops to 140,000, it is a pretty good indication that something funky is going on with their deer herd. Keep in mind, the most important factor here is that the data is collected in the same way each and every year. Managers can look at trend data and determine if populations are increasing, decreasing, or stable. They oftentimes do this on a county by county basis. They can then adjust countywide regulations accordingly.

 This is why someone cannot simply look at the harvest totals from one year and claim the sky is falling, or even for that matter, look how great we did! In all actuality, you nor anyone else, have any idea exactly how many deer were killed in any given year. So the next time you go to the water cooler during your coffee break to brag or criticize the deer kill, make sure you bring the data from a whole bunch of years to back you up. I must admit though, it sure is fun to look at...just know what the heck you're talking about.

The Wily Coyote - Step 2: Take Action (Part 3)

So you think you have a coyote issue...

After you took a deep breath and came to the realization that coyotes are here to stay and they're not going to kill ALL the deer, is there something you can do about it? ...especially if deer are your animal of choice? To put it plain and simple, how do you lessen the impact of coyotes on your deer herd?

Simple...Take Action (Step 2)

Actuality there are two ways to do this, one direct and one indirect. The direct method may yield results rather quickly if done correctly, but it needs constant work. In other words, you've got to keep at it every single year. The indirect method may take longer to see results but may also require less work on an annual basis. Let's start with the former.
 

Coyote Removal - Direct Method

Obviously a simple solution to reducing the number of deer killed by coyotes is to reduce the overall number of coyotes. Unfortunately, this is more complex than it sounds. "Hunting" coyotes sounds like a reasonable solution but by-in-large this method oftentimes proves to be ineffective and there is sound science to back this up. Much of this has to do with coyote biology and behavior.

Let's start with the concept of "coyote hunting." Many deer hunters will call themselves coyote hunters since they will shoot a coyote anytime one wanders by, especially while the "deer huntin' is going slow". This is more or less what I would call opportunistic hunting. By all means feel free to do this but don't expect any returns in the form of protecting your deer herd. This is simply due to the nature of coyotes.

Coyotes often form life time pair bonds.

Coyote pairs bond for life and often claim and defend their territory, hence they keep wandering coyotes out. Should you shoot one of these "nomad" coyotes, you haven't really done anything to reduce their overall population in your area since that particular coyote would've been moving through to find unoccupied territory anyway. If you actually do target and kill resident coyotes and reduce their core population, research has shown that they may give birth to higher numbers of pups since more resources are available. This is common in many mammal species. But this isn't the main reason why this recreational coyote hunting is ineffective, it is not only because not enough coyotes killed, but more importantly, it is because it is done at the wrong time of year...the fall.

Again, let's look at coyote biology and behavior. Coyotes primarily feed on small mammals but they will also feed on deer. In almost all cases this means "little" deer, as in fawns. They rarely, if ever, take down adult deer. If you want to directly impact the number of deer killed by coyotes you need to focus on reducing coyote numbers when deer are most susceptible. This means you have to conduct an intensive coyote reduction program just prior to fawn drop. Studies have shown that this can significantly impact fawn survival. Keep in mind, shooting alone usually doesn't cut it. The coyote removal program should be coupled with an intensive trapping program. There needs to be pressure on the coyotes literally day and night. Keep in mind though, although you may put a dent in the coyote population and hopefully increase your fawn recruitment, coyote numbers will bounce back quickly, thus, you will have to do this "management" every spring. This is why it is a more intensive approach.

Habitat management - Indirect Method

The more complex solution, but one that potentially has less long-term work, is to improve your overall habitat. Depending on what type of habitat improvements you do, it may have a multitude of benefits. First off it may increase your deer carrying capacity.

Wait! ...won't this increase your coyote numbers as well?

Quite possibly, but it shouldn't impact the overall coyote kill-rate, so theoretically, you should ultimately have more deer around. Don't believe me? Say your property can hold 50 deer but coyotes are killing 20% that means there are only 40 deer available for you to hunt come fall. Now improve your habitat and double your carrying capacity. This means you may increase the number of deer you have to 100. Although the number of coyotes out there may increase they will probably still only kill 20%. Hence, you will have 80 deer come hunting season. Keep in mind, this approach should benefit lots of other wildlife as well. This includes turkeys and other small game mammals, so it is a win-win-win situation, especially for hard-core hunters.

Fawn comprise most of the coyotes "deer" diet.

When habitat is prime, populations usually function properly. This is a sign of a healthy deer herd. A secondary benefit to healthy deer populations is a well-timed fawn drop. This means most of the fawns are hitting the ground around the same time. This is actually a reproductive strategy called predator swamping. Although there will be an abundance of prey, meaning lots of fawns dropped all at once, predator impact will be minimized. This is because they only have one shot at the buffet. This is opposed to having fewer fawns dropped over a longer period of time. In other words, the coyotes keep going back to the buffet for seconds and thirds!. Again this predator swamping is a secondary benefit of prime habitat.

Another approach is habitat design. It is best to have thick heavy bedding cover (aka fawning cover) in large blocks as opposed to long linear strips. This makes newly-dropped fawns much harder to find. Think about it, thick habitat that is laid out in one long linear strip is easy for a single coyote to search. Now imagine multiple coyotes searching that same area. Yet another habitat tactic to decrease coyote predation.

The bottom line for creating healthy deer populations, in spite of healthy coyote populations, is HABITAT HABITAT HABITAT. Stick around long enough for these lessons and you will find this is going to be a recurring theme. 😉

Additional reading:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3800056?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/285109

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3800056?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

 

The Wily Coyote - Step 1: Breathe (Part 2)

Question:

I have coyotes killing some of my deer! What do I do now?

Step 1: Breathe.

Let's first start by looking at the big picture.

I was recently talking to a well-published outdoor writer about this very issue and we both agreed that many of today's deer hunters are "spoilt". Obviously, he speaks with a heavy southern drawl. Anyway, we shared this notion not in a derogatory fashion but rather in a manner that points out the fact that we, as deer hunters, have been so very fortunate to have lived through the glory days of deer hunting. Face it, our generation, and I am talking about those who remember the days when hunting was "tough," has experienced an amazing time when it comes to deer hunting. For awhile, it seemed each successive season we were breaking new records in regards to the number of deer killed. And in all actuality, we were.

Deer seemed to be everywhere and in many parts of the state deer were nearing the point of being out of control. This wasn't just restricted to Tennessee either. There were actually many Southeastern states that were ready to sound the alarm if deer populations continued to grow. Does the "shoot more does" rally cry sound familiar? How about the extraordinarily doe-centric regulations that were enacted in some areas such as "earn-a-buck" or "three does per day". Many places were at wits end and this was primarily due to deer being introduced into places that were devoid of natural predators. Fortunately coyotes came along.

Didk he just say "fortunately"?!?

As a matter of fact I did.

You see, healthy ecosystems are designed with a system of checks and balances. They ensure one species does not dominate the system and cause significant or irreparable harm to the entire system. And believe it or not herbivores, like deer, can be one of the most damaging species of all to the system, even more so than any predator. The reason being, herbivores have the potential to change landscapes. In other words, they can damage the "home" in which all animals live.

Still don't believe me?

Numerous studies have been conducted on the impacts of overgrazing by deer on the habitat. Besides reducing forest regeneration (trees can't grow big if they're eaten when they're small), overgrazing may actually encourage the spread of invasive species on the landscape. Since deer prefer the more palatable native plants, unnaturally high numbers of deer may then encourage less-preferred non-native plants to take over. If left unchecked, deer can alter landscapes thus resulting in less overall species diversity. In other words, they can literally impact what species are present. So having too many deer may actually be more detrimental to the ecosystem than having too few deer.

So what are we talking about here...deer or coyote?

Answer: Both.

The fact of the matter is they need each other. It is unwise to select for one species over another without having major ramifications on the entire system. Although coyotes are not indigenous to Tennessee they are filling the niche left behind by the extirpation cougars and wolves. They are restoring natural predator-prey relationships. And those relationships form the foundation of the system of checks and balances that maintains species diversity.

Keep in mind, coyotes are not going to wipe our deer, they will simply keep their numbers in check and make the herd stronger over time. Remember that pesky little law of "survival of the fittest"? Predators prey on the young and the weak thus leaving only the strongest to survive. On a side note...humans, with their selective harvest and propensity to target the strongest may actually be selecting for less-desirable (smaller antlered if you will) deer but that is a whole 'nother topic.

Anyway...Step 1 is to take a deep breath and breathe.

Deer are not in trouble with having a new predator in town. They will learn to adapt and we will ALL be better off for it. And I promise in Step 2, I will get to the coyote management practices many have been asking about.

Additional reading:

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/104911.html

http://earthsky.org/earth/overgrazing-by-deer-is-changing-the-face-of-u-s-forests

http://news.psu.edu/story/315340/2014/05/09/research/research-indicates-coyote-predation-deer-east-manageable

The Wily Coyote - The Newest Predator (Part 1)

Question from the Field:

"In your opinion, to what extent has the introduction of coyotes back into the states predator pool some years ago affected the hunter success rate?"

This question will start a series of posts on coyotes but first let's start from the beginning…

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Evolution is taking place every minute of every day, it is an unstoppable natural process. It happens before our eyes often unknowingly, for many changes take thousands of years before they are permanently manifested. Some, however, happen in the blink of an eye. Take for example the coyote.

I remember as a child being awe struck the first time I heard a coyote howl, or should I say yip since a coyote howl pales in comparison to that of a wolf. The high-pitched whine was a new sound for both me and my dad, for back then, coyotes were practically unheard of east of the Mississippi. Fast forward 30 years, the mere blink of an eye for Mother Nature. That yipping sound fails to strike any awe whatsoever. Don't get me wrong, it's still a beautifully eerie sound but no longer is it unheard of, in fact, it is now considered common place throughout Tennessee.

So where did they come from?

Coyotes have a long been considered a western species, known primarily from the Great Plains and the Southwest. Prior to European settlement, they did not venture much into the eastern forests for it would've been a risky move since competing. and much larger predators, already filled that niche. The rich and diverse forests of Tennessee were already home to bears, cougars and wolves. Now enter Europeans and their thirst to conquer and tame new lands. Their first order of business was to clear the forests. Besides providing lumber for construction, the newly opened lands provided croplands for food production. This changing landscape not only altered the plant species that grew in response, it altered the animal species they supported.

As most of you know throughout the 1800s and early 1900s most of Tennessee was clear-cut. Pictures in the various museums around the state often show the Tennessee landscape as desolate hills stripped of their forests. As you could imagine, forest dwelling creatures had no place to go and were systematically wiped-out. Wolves, cougars, and elk were extirpated (completely eliminated from the state) while other game species such as deer, turkey, bear and waterfowl dipped to precariously low numbers.  Most of this was attributed to habitat loss and market hunting. With no wildlife laws in place, animals were shot indiscriminately by whoever wanted them. Now enter the birth of wildlife management in the early parts of the 20th century. Wildlife laws were enacted and animals were protected in order to conserve the species. But now that the animals were offered protections, which animals were to come back? That is where the altered landscapes come into play.

Tennessee no longer had large swaths of mature forests in the mid-1900s. This open landscape was more conducive to some animals over others. Obviously small game species which coveted early successional habitat (aka scrubby fence rows and fallow fields) thrived. I'm sure many old-timers reading this very post recall the days of quail and rabbits that burst from underfoot as they traversed the hillsides. As you could imagine this open and diverse habitat was also conducive for restoring deer and turkey populations, often times in numbers that were not "natural" to the original system.

So what the heck does this have to do with coyotes?

Simple...a Tennessee landscape full of small mammal prey species and devoid of large predators was an invitation coyotes simply could not refuse. Hence, coyotes began their own manifest destiny but this time, they were heading eastward. 

Sometime in the latter half of the twentieth century coyotes secured a firm foothold in Tennessee and their numbers began to multiply eventually filling every corner of the state. Keep in mind, the whole time this was happening the landscape continued to change and revert to more historical conditions. In other words, the forests began coming back.

Enter today... Tennessee is a beautifully rich and diverse state exhibiting a plethora of thriving ecosystems. However, some things are a bit out of kilter. Though the plant communities are getting in better shape every year the historic animal communities are not like they once were. The state has a new predator in town, the wily and highly adaptable coyote. And unless there's a plan to bring back wolves and cougars (which there's not) I don't think he'll be going anywhere anytime soon, so we as humans will have to learn to adapt to him.

So if anyone is wondering where coyotes came from...it was us, not so much in our infinite wisdom but rather in our finite forethought that coyotes are now a part of our every day lives.

Supplemental Feed - The Dinner Bell (Part 2)

We are always trying to do things that primarily benefit us, after all, it is only human nature. This filters down to trying to "help" the animals we pursue as hunters. So we put food out to help the animals along. After all, the more and healthier they are, the better off we ALL are, right? It's a win-win situation.

Maybe or may be not?

Many times the benefits of our actions are perceived, as in the case for the supplemental feeding of an animal for nutrition's sake. Though it sounds logical and may not cause visible health issues, few, if any, studies have ever been shown that free-ranging deer health is significantly improved through supplemental feeding, in particular, body weight and antler development. The results are spotty at best and there are actually some studies that have been conducted that show no added benefit. But what about the unintended negative consequences that often go unseen? What if those outcomes do hurt the animal? They too are the result of your actions.

Over the last few years there has been a wave of concern in many southeastern states regarding deer decline (fortunately Tennessee has not seen significant population shifts in either direction). In regards to population declines seen in other states, the red headed step child in almost all situations in the Southeast appears to always point toward the coyote. In fact, many studies have shown significant predation on fawns by this wily predator.

But why is it apparently causing major impact in some areas and not others? 

Predated turkey nest.

Consider a study conducted on the impact of deer (corn) feeders on nest predation. There were significant impacts to ground nesting birds due to increased activity of nest predators around bait sites. Guess what, turkeys are ground nesting birds. If I had a dime for every turkey hunter who complained about decreased turkey numbers, I'd be a rich man. Are we as hunters partly to blame? Has our desire to assist one game animal wreaked havoc on another? By the way, regional turkey populations appear to be doing just fine, there may be significant impacts to local populations however.

Back to deer...

Almost every other day throughout the season there are posts about coyotes and how vile they are and how much deer managers hate them, yet many of those same deer managers are quick to put out supplemental feed for deer which becomes a huge draw for coyotes. If it has been shown that coyotes and other predators are impacting one prey species, why not the other? Most supplemental feeding programs take place in the winter time when deer are at their weakest and most susceptible. If those same feeding programs continue into the spring when fawn drop occurs, are you not ringing the dinner bell for predators? 

Feeders are often a go to site for predators.

Though no studies have been conducted as of yet to test the correlation between deer decline and baiting, it may be more than simple irony that Tennessee, which outlaws baiting, has not experienced the same deer decline as those states where it is legal. Is this a coincidence? Probably… But what if it isn't?

There is a reason why wildlife biologists frown upon supplemental feeding, it is often because of the unintended consequences. Ringing a dinner bell is only but one of them. If you're managing for deer, don't make it easy for the predators that kill them. Make sense?

Anyway...just some food for thought.

Additional reading...

http://texnat.tamu.edu/files/2010/09/013.pdf

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3784470

http://wildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PS_BaitingandSupplementalFeeding.pdf

Supplemental Feed - Corn (Part 1)

Question from the Field:

"Does corn pile supplement feeding pose a risk to your deer herd?"

It's that time of year again. Deer seasons are closed, guns are cleaned, and your hunting gear is neatly packed away in preparation for a long stretch of dormancy. The only thing left to do is make sure the young deer you left behind for next year are well fed and properly cared for during the long, cold winter months. So off to the nearest Wallyword you go to pick up a few bags of "deer corn". After all keeping the feeders full of corn throughout the winter will only help the deer survive, thus helping them through in great condition allowing them to reach their maximum potential...right?

Typical supplemental deer feeder.

Actually...there's a chance you couldn't be more WRONG. 

Though well-intentioned, the supplemental feeding of deer, especially corn, may actually have more negative impacts to deer and other wildlife than positive impacts.

But how could this be? If you are feeding deer when there are not many natural foods available, it makes no sense that this may be harmful. The deer love it!

First off, you need to understand that deer are wild animals, they are not domesticated. In other words, they are not dependent on man for their basic life necessities, including food. But it is not the amount of food here that is the issue, it is the kind of food that many hunters don't realize is the problem.

Deer have evolved to survive without man for tens of thousands of years. During that time, their bodies have adapted to life in the wild. One of those adaptations is for their body to adjust to the changing seasons. This means that their body knows when times will be tough, and their stomach adjusts accordingly. As you can imagine, the physical design of their stomach doesn't change during the onset of winter. What does change, however, is the microbiotic community that exists within their stomach. This is what helps them digest their food. Knowing that their preferred foods, such as forbs and other succulent plants, will not be readily available throughout the winter months their gut switches gears and relies on a complex community of bacteria inside the stomach that is designed to break down woody browse. In other words, their bodies are designed to eat coarser foods in the winter. A good analogy is having your truck fine tuned to run on diesel then suddenly switching over and only using ethanol to fill it up. That's what you're doing to a deer's body if you give it the wrong foods at the wrong time of year.

Photo from Northeast - enterotoxemia mortality.

So along comes man who thinks they're doing the deer a favor by feeding them, when in fact, their bodies are not designed to handle the different foods they are usually offered. In fact, there are numerous cases of deer dying due to supplemental feeding. Especially when the deer rely solely on supplemental foods. When given the wrong foods, a situation called enterotoxemia may develop and kill a deer in a matter of hours. Fortunately, for folks here in Tennessee, this is not often the case since deer are not as restricted in their food choices as deer in the Northern climates; hence, they rarely only consume supplemental feed. In other words, I still wouldn't want to put "only a few gallons" of ethanol in my diesel truck.

This is but ONE reason supplemental feeding of wildlife is frowned upon. Animals are designed to eat the foods the environment provides at the specific times of the year. Changing up what their bodies are use to usually offers little benefit and may actually cause more problems than it solves. So if you truly want to do what best for your deer herd, provide the best habitat your land can offer.

Anyway, I hope I made you think.

I'll offer another big reason, yet often not considered, on why supplemental feeding is bad in Part 2. Until then, here are some great reads:

- http://wildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PS_BaitingandSupplementalFeeding.pdf

- https://www1.maine.gov/ifw/hunting_trapping/pdfs/deer_winter_feeding.pdf