buckee Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Something the environmentalcases will never understand is how cruel nature can be at times. This winter has been the coldest and snowiest winter we have seen since the 1950's. (yeah, that's right....back when we were having that other global warming spell..LOL:rolleyes: We had an unusually late and prolonged rut in 2007, which produced an abundance of late born fawns. Some of you may remember reading my hunting journal and my comments about holding of on shooting my doe, because there were so many with late small fawns still. I/we (Diana and I) have been out shed hunting earnestly for the past few weeks, every chance we get, and enjoying every minute of it, accept for every time we run across a dead little fawn, all curled up under protective cover, where not even the eagles, and vultures can find them. I/we have found 13 of the little ones so far this year, just looking for sheds. :( It's a sad moment every time we find one. The poor little cuties. Most of them have been perfectly preserved, all curled up in a sleeping position, and have been under cover for the last couple of months, and I can't believe how small they all are. Here's an example of what we have been finding. I was just wondering if it's been the same in other parts of North America ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 yes Steve we have lost deer here too..but to wolves not the elements...we have not had a severe winter in Northern Wi since '95-'96..but the DNR says we did..actually Madison 400 miles south has had more snow than us in the past two winters..thats where DNR headquarters are, so they think the rest of the state was the same..maybe they ought to get out of their cubicles and take a look around? by the way Steve..green leaves already?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axman Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 God that sucks bad........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 by the way Steve..green leaves already?? That is a rhododendron. We found that dead fawn in a park area. No real native green yet accept for the lawns, ferns and evergreens OH, and the crocus's are up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 I've only been out looking for sheds once. No dead deer. I wouldn't expect to see any here in Southern Illinois. Our winters are not that bad. I have never ran across a dead fawn in the late winter early spring in my part of the country. Very sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 That is sad to see, but it is nature's way. It is all in the plan, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saphira Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Sorry to hear about that man i havent found none yet but it's proably a matter of time because it got nasty here in indiana. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Back in the 80's, we had a huge deer yard where hundreds of deer had congregated and allowed us all to see, first hand, just how brutal winter-kill can be. I remember all these deer standing in a field that had been grazed right to the dirt, just standing around waiting to die. All up and down the road, there were deer that were too weak to even get out of the road. All browse was completely stripped for as high as the deer could reach. Several were hanging from fences where they had tried to jump over, but didn't have the strength to clear the fence and got their hind legs caught up in the upper strands and simply hung there until they froze to death. One field was littered with mounds of snow which was snow covered deer bodies. It's funny how the antis never seem to want to talk about that year's winter die-off and how cruel that was when compared to a hunter's bullet. But that was a great laboratory that clearly showed the effects of too great a deer population. It was a grim and gruesome sight. I wish I had taken some pictures. A single picture would quickly shut up some of these anti-hunting jerks. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Yeah Steve, we are expecting a rough winter for our deer herds also. The snow is very deep, which makes it treacherous for the deer, but perfect for the yotes:rolleyes:. I have been out a lot in our suburban hunting area, and our rural hunting areas, and have not found any winter kill...yet. I have spent a lot of time hinge cutting saplings for the deer on our upstate land and from weekend to weekend, those twig tips have been devoured. We can't feed in NY so , this is the best we can do to help the herd. In suburbia, there is a lot of landscaping for the deer to eat, so there rarely starve like their upstate counterparts. Here is an article on this topic for our area. http://www.nyoutdoornews.com/articles/2009/02/26/top_news/news02.txt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 That's why they call it "survival of the fittest" but still a sad sight for sure. Also, some rhododendrons are poisonous. Could have been that little guy's last nibble before laying down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWSmith Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 ...The snow is very deep, which makes it treacherous for the deer, but perfect for the yotes:rolleyes:. It does not take long for the yotes to find them around here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 That is a shame Steve. Winters here are pretty mild usually, has not been too bad here this year. I have not seen any sign of any critters that have died as a result of the weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob LeBlanc Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 We've got terrible conditions for the deer out east here, buckee... Lots of deep snow that got crusted over, and then more snow on top of that that crusted over too. The coyotes are running on top of it all and the deer are either busting through or slippin'and slidin'. The snowmobilers are finding lots of dead deer, and I know of 3 live ones that the yotes didn't finish eating or even kill before they started. They had to be shot to be put out of their misery. It's a shame...our herd was rebounding nicely, but I think this could set us back a few years. Bob:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Kat Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 Lucky for us southerners, you don't see that very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm23494 Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 That's a shame there Steve. Hopefully it won't effect the overall population too much for the next few years. My friend hit a doe about two weeks ago with his truck and after we went through all the proper procedures we were premitted to take deer once the police shot it. When we dressed it her out we found out that she had a pair of fawns that were about the size my hand. It was kind of bittersweet that we were able to get some meat late in the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOYTnMUZZYboy Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 I have found 3 dead deer while out shed hunting this year. The past 2 years I have not seen any dead ones while out shed hunting. Not sure why the 3 died as they were pretty eatin up by yotes, so I can't say if they were shot and never found or died of something else. But I have had a few of my buddies say they have found a few dead ones also while out shed hunting this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
layin on the smackdown Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 I have not come across any carcasses yet...that is unreal, 13 this year...wow...very sad indeed. i would have expected to run across a few here or there (like matt) with how bad this winter was...but where i hunt, i didnt have very many fawns around other than a few button bucks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 I found another one today while shed hunting. That's 14 now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck2 Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 Boy, Steve, that's looking pretty rough right there. We're still waiting to see what the results are going to be here, as the bulk of the mortality usually occurs near winter's end. We still have a foot+ of snow and it's usually gone by this time, so it could be bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 (edited) Boy, Steve, that's looking pretty rough right there. We're still waiting to see what the results are going to be here, as the bulk of the mortality usually occurs near winter's end. We still have a foot+ of snow and it's usually gone by this time, so it could be bad. I think the only reason the mortality rate is so dang high here Jack, is because it is usually mild here all winter, with a few snowy days. ( of course you knew that ) The rut in 2007 was late, sporadic , and long ... thus all the late born fawns last year. We get a lot of late fawns here every year, some years more than others, but most usually make it through these mild winters OK. Some of them are just so small, it's hard to believe. I guess the farmers will be happy for a year or so. Edited March 3, 2009 by buckee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck2 Posted March 3, 2009 Report Share Posted March 3, 2009 I think the only reason the mortality rate is so dang high here Jack, is because it is usually mild here all winter, with a few snowy days. ( of course you knew that ) The rut in 2007 was late, sporadic , and long ... thus all the late born fawns last year. We get a lot of late fawns here every year, some years more than others, but most usually make it through these mild winters OK. Some of them are just so small, it's hard to believe. I guess the farmers will be happy for a year or so. I suppose this will be much the same all up and down the island. As if the wolves over there weren't enough of a problem for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 4, 2009 Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 I found another one today while shed hunting. That's 14 now Is it possible that you have some people engaged in a bit of out-of-season "thrill killing"? I was reading another post that referenced a news article about a bunch of people literally 'running down' deer with their snowmobiles. No particular reason other than they thought it was some kind of fun to smash into deer. They left a trail of dead and wounded deer. So, I wouldn't put anything past some of these jerks, and you may have a bunch of thrill-seekers out there gunning down deer and leaving them, just for the heck of it. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2009 Is it possible that you have some people engaged in a bit of out-of-season "thrill killing"? I was reading another post that referenced a news article about a bunch of people literally 'running down' deer with their snowmobiles. No particular reason other than they thought it was some kind of fun to smash into deer. They left a trail of dead and wounded deer. So, I wouldn't put anything past some of these jerks, and you may have a bunch of thrill-seekers out there gunning down deer and leaving them, just for the heck of it. Doc Nope ...90% of these little fellas have been found tucked up under good cover, and in a sleeping position. We don't have many snowmobiles around this neck of the woods, because we rarely get snow in the winter (accept for this year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 Nope ...90% of these little fellas have been found tucked up under good cover, and in a sleeping position. We don't have many snowmobiles around this neck of the woods, because we rarely get snow in the winter (accept for this year). Oh, I didn't realize these were fawn fatalities. That didn't even cross my mind because we are months away from fawning time up here. That's still an amazing number of dead deer. You have to figure that you are only finding a small percentage of them. I assume that this is not a normal, annual sort of death rate. Doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckee Posted March 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 (edited) Oh, I didn't realize these were fawn fatalities. That didn't even cross my mind because we are months away from fawning time up here. We are months away from fawning here too. These were all late born fawns from 2008, that just couldn't make it through the cold winter this year. As of today, the count is up to 19 dead fawns This winter has been cruel. Edited March 8, 2009 by buckee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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