Why can't deer be transplanted

[NVdrhntr]

All other big game species I can think of, elk, sheep, goats,
antelope are all captured and transplanted to suppliment herds.
If we have "nuisance" deer in farmers fields and in city limits
etc.
other than the cost of the capture, is there a biological reason we cant catch these deer and move them instead of having doe hunts?
If it's only cost, why can't MDF step up.
Sheep organizations sure do.

 

[dillon]

Biologist will tell you deer can't handle the stress and the drug they use on other animals has little affect on deer.

 

[appleman]

I dont believe it. Deer are moved all the time in certain areas.

 

[sharpstick]

Good question and I don't have the answer but I was listening to KSL (Doug Wright) this last week and they were discussing the issue of DWR shooting deer in the Bountiful area. I guess they are eating a lot of shrubs in the neighborhood and getting on the roads. Well, if they could transplant the deer we could use all the deer they could bring in north of Oakley because the numbers sure have diminished over the last ten years.

 

[huskyhunter25]

they say that the deer cant handle it cause of all the good food they eat in the neighborhoods. they say that the deer wouldnt know where to find their natural food in the real world and they would die. i think thats a bunch of bull. like you said all the other animals have been just fine being transplanted. so a few might die but if a lot will live than why not do it? i think they should take all the deer out of the slc valley and transplant them to other areas around the state. there are huge bucks in the valley that where born and raised there that will never leave.

 

[kilowatt]

I find that hard to believe since they took the Mule Deer to Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Southern Calif. and those Mulies are big now.

Brian
http://i25.tinypic.com/fxbjgy.jpg[/IMG]

 

[nebo]

That is bull s***. It is to much work for them to do that. It would be worth the try instead of just shooting the deer.

 

[D13er]

it is the cost....



JB

 

[elkun]

if its mosty cost.and i belive it is ,.where is mdf? . and all thier banquet money...

 

[cantkillathing]

they transplanted the deer from the san juan unit to the Henries. I think the Henries deer are doing fine, what do you think?

 

[stillhunterman]

Cost certainly is part of it, but not all of it. Mule deer are not a very hearty species. Transplants have been tried many times in many states with varied success. Most of the time, the majority of the animals died within a couple of years. Once taken out of established area, mulies tend to become "lost" in a few ways--they are extremely dependent on "imprinted information" from mama and the mature doe's that know where the best food/water sources are. They stress easily and just can't seem to cope well in new surroundings, especially when they are large tracts of land with sparce or wide spaced resourses. Too bad...

 

[388Net]

Rather than shooting the deer in Bountiful, Transplant them. If one deer lives out of 50 that is better than all of them ending up shot by the DWR....I have seen deer transplanted and they did fine, they were tagged and we saw some of these deer up to 8 years after they were transplanted. Why is the cost the problem, I cant see where it would take that much money to do it... It works that is the problem...

 

[Daxter]

338Net, Where did you see transplanted deer that lived 8 years? Most mule deer don't even live 8 years in their own native habitats. I wish mule deer transplanted well, but what stillhunterman said pretty much sums up everything I have ever read regarding mule deer transplants. Conventional wisdom in the wildlife management world is that the low success of mule deer transplants doesn't justify the cost. Money could be spent on better projects.

Think of it like this, if you have a bucket with a hole in it that won't hold water should you spend your money getting more water to pour into the bucket or on fixing the hole? If our current mule deer habitat wont hold as many deer as we want maybe we should take the money and spend it on habitat, predator control, preventing roadkill, stopping development on critical ranges, etc.

That being said I still think the Bountiful deer slaughter is a shame.


Dax

There is no such thing as a sure thing in trophy mule deer hunting.

 

[muzz]

Because there not smart enough to do it and there to lazy.


O--one
B--big
A--ass
M--mistake
A--america

 

[huntindad4]

I think it is a cost thing and if they used some of the incentive programs some states have where hunters get a point or a better chance to draw then they would have more than enough volunteer help. But the big cost is probably the 25 Bios and Govt. bigwigs standing around for photo ops. just as with any other govt. function.....

As for the survival rate I am sure it would depend on the area receiving the transplant if it has plenty of resources they would do fine and find their own way but if you put em in the desert then they probably won't just as the example above with the Santa Rosa herd.

I think even with a low survival rate it makes more sense than and has a better survival rate than shooting them.

Bill

 

[mntman]

I don't think it is a good idea, mainly due to cost. Reason is when you compare transplanting mule deer to the transplant of sheep, moose etc... it is two totally different situations.

When you transplant sheep, moose etc.... they are doing it to start a NEW population or one that disappeared years ago. They only need a few to survive to start reproducing and let them grow their numbers on their own.
You guys are talking about transplanting mule deer to boost a population, which is a totally different situation and is not cost efficietnt. Why would you pay 10's or 100s of thousands of dollars to transplant 50, 100, 500 deer to have a low percentage success rate on survival into the next year, then to have those deer then shot in a deer season.
That makes ZERO sense and is a complete WASTE of tax/donation dollars. Spend that money on habitat and it will be of far greater benefit.


Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"

 

[Runnoft]

I say transplant them. The yotes and cougars will appreciate it.

 

[muzz]

Hey maybe we could transplant them to kentucky for some more damn turkeys..

O--one
B--big
A--ass
M--mistake
A--america

 

[eldorado]

Hell, if they can do it for problem bears then why not for
deer. I get the feeling that most western wildlife agency's
see mule deer as simply a cash fund for more aesthetic and
lucrative wildlife (eg., goats, elk, sheep). Mule deer seem
to get the short end of the budget dollars and unfortunately
the respect they deserve.

ELDORADO

 

[ASB]

Kilo is correct.....Kaibab deer were introduced to SR Island off the CA coast many years ago. They are THRIVING, period. Now they are going to have "government hunters" exterminate those deer because they are not "native" to that particular ecosystem. Bull$#####, in other words. Where is SFW, MDF, etc?? That is a controlled environment (island) in terms of thinking about how easy it could be to remove at least a few.......we are losing muleys everywhere else, why can't we at least make an attempt to bring those (transplanted herd) back to where they would be apprecieated, not killed by guys in a helicpoter.

By no means am I stupid enough to not know $$$ is part of the reason.....just something to think about. Again, just something to think about.

We are losing great gene pools of deer in every state, yet they want to kill (politics) by hired gun one of the greatest gene pools (Kaibab history) we have on this continent. I usually don't say much here, but this makes me sick. Those deer will only be pictures in one year......because someone says thay aren't "native". I wonder why PETA isn't sticking up for those deer (elk too)......oh that's right, PETA just doesn't want us hunters to get them.

While I got lost in my babble, yes, deer can be transplanted, just have to be careful about it.....that island is proof.

Merry X-Mas to all.

 

[huntindad4]

Mtnman, sheep and elk are transplanted to areas containing weak numbers of those species as well as to areas that don't have any and one of the reasons is diversity in other words to lessen inbreeding however I think results are mixed as far as sheep because they are not readily accepted into the herd.

I think it can be done and cheaper than the govt. claims you just have to think outside the bureaucratic box and not buy the $500.00 hammer!

Bill

 

[sagebrush]

Another example from CA, the rocky mountain mule deer that were transplanted into the New York and Providence Mountains in the Mohave desert. Even tortises can't live in the Mohave National Preserve but the mule deer are doing just fine.

 

[4orMore]

Sounds like a great Dedicated Hunter project. Sign me up. That will eliminate most of the cost factor.

I just happen to be a Bountiful resident and this whole idea sickens me. If you drive around my neighborhood you'll see dozens of signs in peoples yards protesting it. Residents opposed any action with over 60% majority and they still went through with it. It's ridiculous and it's being carried out during the wrong time of year when migratory deer are in town at night mixed in with the so-called "resident/urban" deer. If anything needs to be done (and I say just leave them alone), it should be done in the summer time when it's easier to define "resident/urban" deer. This will avoid the killing of "innocent" winter range, migratory deer.

 

[m_freeman]

bring those deer down here to San Diego County we have 3000 tags issued and about 500 deer in our herd.

 

[nebo12000]

The DWR supplies fencing for farmers to keep deer and elk out of their hay stacks. Maybe they could supply those in Bountiful that are complaining with fence material to put around their yards. Maybe this way the ones that actually enjoy having the deer around won't have to see them destroyed for no good purpose other than saving some rose bushes...