Wyoming winter kill

DeerMadness · Mar 24, 2023

Not good...

Collared mule deer fawns show over 50 percent winter mortality rate

WYOMING — According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD), tracked mule deer fawns in the Jackson/Pinedale regions are currently showing greater than 50 percent mortality in the Wyoming Range herd. Juvenile mortality typically averages about 25 percent in these herds. The GPS-collared...

buckrail.com

DoubleDropMuley · Mar 24, 2023

Sad deal, was seeing lots of twins last hunting season too, damn you mutha F’n Nature !!

Founder · Mar 24, 2023

The last 2 or 3 winters has seen very low fawn mortality. It always has been and always will be a roller coaster I guess. Hopefully when it's all said and done, adult mortality won't go too much higher and fawn mortality can remain below 75%.

On the brighter side, maybe if the soil holds moisture longer, then winter range forage will do a little better growing this spring and summer.

wweaver79 · Mar 24, 2023

Two more weeks of cold and snow before weather turns, that number going to go up a good amount yet unfortunately.

nontypical · Mar 24, 2023

To make matters worse...

I was chatting with Gary Fralick (biologist for the area) a couple days ago about the winter mortality. He told me that the disease affecting antelope ( Mycoplasma bovis) near Pinedale has now claimed 600-800 animals..

DaveD · Mar 24, 2023

What a difference 20 miles makes...
Central Wyoming along I-80

This is about 20 miles East of the last Picture

kickerbuck · Mar 24, 2023

Super sad deal no doubt about it! The loss of winter range and wildlife habitat to human development is a major problem and only getting worse for Mule Deer. This winter has really killed a lot of deer and antelope all over the west.

Now its time on this thread for residents and non-residents to argue over who should get to shoot the bucks that made it through a pure hell winter later this fall. "Give me a break"

I haven't killed a deer in Oregon since 2009 and probably won't ever again bc I know this state can't afford for me to kill one. I sure hope some grown men with many bucks under their belt are willing to just buy a point and give the deer a break this fall!!!

nontypical · Mar 24, 2023

kickerbuck said:
Super sad deal no doubt about it! The loss of winter range and wildlife habitat to human development is a major problem and only getting worse for Mule Deer. This winter has really killed a lot of deer and antelope all over the west.

Now its time on this thread for residents and non-residents to argue over who should get to shoot the bucks that made it through a pure hell winter later this fall. "Give me a break"

I haven't killed a deer in Oregon since 2009 and probably won't ever again bc I know this state can't afford for me to kill one. I sure hope some grown men with many bucks under their belt are willing to just buy a point and give the deer a break this fall!!!

I give them a break every year! Haven't killed a buck in Wyoming for about the same period of time as you in Oregon. However, if I see one that fits my criteria, I'm slinging lead; or arrows! I ain't arguing with anyone about it, either! I'm betting you do the same!

kickerbuck · Mar 24, 2023

nontypical said:
I give them a break every year! Haven't killed a buck in Wyoming for about the same period of time as you in Oregon. However, if I see one that fits my criteria, I'm slinging lead; or arrows! I ain't arguing with anyone about it, either! I'm betting you do the same!

Good deal you sound like me exactly! With that said at least in Oregon I won't shoot a buck bc of the numbers, but would let my kid, but he has never killed one. He missed a pretty nice one here last season though "Public Land." My hope is that with the bad winters that Wyo gets combined with hunting ect that your state doesn't end up like Oregon with very few deer and buck to doe ratios in the single digits.

The number one question I get asked here is "What has happened to all the deer?" I just hope that isn't Wyoming one day!!!

Nebraskahunter · Mar 24, 2023

DaveD said:
What a difference 20 miles makes...
Central Wyoming along I-80
View attachment 106505

This is about 20 miles East of the last Picture
View attachment 106506

Is the bottom photo Sinclair?

Founder · Mar 24, 2023

nontypical said:
I give them a break every year! Haven't killed a buck in Wyoming for about the same period of time as you in Oregon. However, if I see one that fits my criteria, I'm slinging lead; or arrows! I ain't arguing with anyone about it, either! I'm betting you do the same!

I did my “giving them a break” last year. If I can land a tag, I’m going to be getting after it hard to not repeat the meatless freezer. But it’ll have to be big buck meat, that’s the flavor I like.

DoubleDropMuley · Mar 24, 2023

Founder said:
I did my “giving them a break” last year. If I can land a tag, I’m going to be getting after it hard to not repeat the meatless freezer. But it’ll have to be big buck meat, that’s the flavor I like.

What do you mean if ? ???

DaveD · Mar 25, 2023

Nebraskahunter said:
Is the bottom photo Sinclair?

Yes

elks96 · Mar 25, 2023

kickerbuck said:
Good deal you sound like me exactly! With that said at least in Oregon I won't shoot a buck bc of the numbers, but would let my kid, but he has never killed one. He missed a pretty nice one here last season though "Public Land." My hope is that with the bad winters that Wyo gets combined with hunting ect that your state doesn't end up like Oregon with very few deer and buck to doe ratios in the single digits.

The number one question I get asked here is "What has happened to all the deer?" I just hope that isn't Wyoming one day!!!

Already here in WY. The numbers are way down as well…

wweaver79 · Mar 26, 2023

Just looked at the I 80 cams, Evanston still looks like it is Jan. Rock Springs looks ok. But from Bitter Creek all the way to Rawlins, still looks like January. Laramie looks to have been saved for the most part it is totally clear.

BrowningRage · Mar 27, 2023

I remember several years ago shed hunting out there... Found 17 deer carcasses that day. One of them with a missing head... usually find 2 or 3 in a full day of hiking. That was a bad year, I suspect this year will be similar. ??

Ticks N Tines · Mar 28, 2023

BrowningRage said:
I remember several years ago shed hunting out there... Found 17 deer carcasses that day. One of them with a missing head... usually find 2 or 3 in a full day of hiking. That was a bad year, I suspect this year will be similar. ??

2017 was bad. That was the year they were estimating 90-100% fawn loss. During the shed hunt we were seeing 15-20 carcasses on each hike easy. Tons of winter kill that year and this winter is much worse than 2017. I'm very worried about the deer this year. I doubt the snow will even be gone by May 1st (on the winter range). Fawn loss has to be near 100% and I would assume a big chunk of adults as well.

nontypical · Mar 28, 2023

Ticks N Tines said:
2017 was bad. That was the year they were estimating 90-100% fawn loss. During the shed hunt we were seeing 15-20 carcasses on each hike easy. Tons of winter kill that year and this winter is much worse than 2017. I'm very worried about the deer this year. I doubt the snow will even be gone by May 1st (on the winter range). Fawn loss has to be near 100% and I would assume a big chunk of adults as well.

I took a drive to the winter range today. There will definitely still be snow on May 1. There might even be a few live deer. Saw about 25% of the deer we should have seen. Many looked in bad shape. But many looked fine. I don't see any relief over the next ten days as far as temperatures. It was -7 this morning according to the truck thermometer. Probably saw at least 15 carcasses. Coyotes and birds are getting fat. There are so many carcasses the scavengers can't get to them all. I suppose many are frozen and they'll be kept in the freezer for later consumption. May 1 will be a muddy sloppy mess. Bring yer muck boots if you're coming. Already 42 of 65 fawns collared earlier this winter have perished. That's over 65% mortality...so far. We could see over 90% fawn loss. With the amount of snow remaining (and more coming), and cold temps for the next week or more, I think that'll probably happen. I haven't been up there since the latter part of January. At that time the deer were struggling to get through the deep snow in places, and digging through the snow to get some grub. Now the snow is frozen and the deer walk across the top. Makes for better walking (unless they break through), but tougher eating.

On the bright side, the snow levels looked slightly lower to me than in January, mostly from compaction, I suppose, and brush was visible above the snow in most places. A few of the south and west facing slopes have blown or melted clear, and the deer were favoring those locations, as well as the brushy draws with the taller sage for thermal cover.

The snow is still deep in most places. Actually saw a young 4 pt still packing both sides. Here's a few pics. Interesting pic of the deer carcasses with the live deer above the rimrock. Bear in mind this is March 28!

elks96 · Mar 29, 2023

We drove Lander to Billings and Lander to a Casper the last few days. The further we got from lander the better things looked. We saw several of last years babies in the big horn basin and not much winter kill. Between Lander and Moneta was a different store. We saw several spots where there were 2-3 dead lopes at a time. We saw less than half the normal number of deer and not one fawn from last year.

It seems like once the snow melts and we can get into some of these places there will be several piles of dead…

Cooper · Mar 29, 2023

Ticks N Tines said:
2017 was bad. That was the year they were estimating 90-100% fawn loss. During the shed hunt we were seeing 15-20 carcasses on each hike easy. Tons of winter kill that year and this winter is much worse than 2017. I'm very worried about the deer this year. I doubt the snow will even be gone by May 1st (on the winter range). Fawn loss has to be near 100% and I would assume a big chunk of adults as well.

I saw the same, I saw multiple deer laying there alive but in so bad of shape they were on their last days