blake
Life Member
NEWS:
From the Iowa DNR:
Conservationists Puzzle Over Deaths of Forest City Deer
by Lowell Washburn
FOREST CITY - In addition to providing scenes of incredible wonder and beauty, the Iowa outdoors is also a place of mystery. One of those outdoor question marks this week is, why are the deer dying in Forest City?
The dead deer were first reported to DNR last Thursday by Calvary Baptist Church pastor, Doug Farrell. An avid outdoorsman, Farrell discovered the white-tails while hunting for shed antlers along a wooded stretch of the Winnebago River near the north edge of town. The discovery of a couple of small sheds offered a pleasant beginning to the outing, but what came next was more alarming.
"The next thing I found was a dead buck stretched out on the snow," says Farrell. "I could see that the deer had shed it antlers, so I knew that it wasn't a fawn. I soon found another deer, and then another."
During the remainder of his excursion, Farrell discovered a total of four dead bucks along the river's wooded corridor. A fifth deer, this time a doe, was found at a nearby residential area. None of the deer were young-of-the-year [fawns] and all five were located within a total distance measuring less than 800 yards.
"At first I thought - One deer, maybe not too unusual. But then, when I found this many all in a row over such a short distance, I realized it was something very unusual," said Farrell. "I decided I should give someone a call."
"Wintering deer have traditionally used these river bottoms for years," notes Farrell. "In the past, I might see more than 100 deer using the area at one time. This year, the most I've seen is 16 in one group. But there are tracks and trails all over, and many of those trails lead directly into the residential areas. Deer are hungry. Late in the day, you can see them make a beeline to the backyard bird feeders."
There's no question that Iowa is currently enduring one of the toughest winters on record. But although starvation would seem a likely cause of death, Forest City deer carcasses are in surprisingly good body condition. And although no can say with certainty, biologists speculate that hunger may have still played a critical role in the deer's demise. As extreme snow depths and this year's record period of continuous snow cover continues to prevent deer from reaching waste grain, local white-tail populations have turned to alternate food sources. Many deer have "moved to town" where they attempt to scrounge a living from backyard feeders.
But although bird feeders may provide hungry deer with a welcome snack, a handful of sunflower hulls or few bites of bird seed are not enough to maintain winter body weights on a herd of large mammals. With the arrival of January's prolonged and relentless siege of low temperatures, drifting snow, and polar wind chills, deer already under stress may have been pushed beyond the point of recovery. Although conservation officers note that many North Iowa communities have similar situations, Forest City is the only town reporting white-tail mortalities.
As area conservationists continue to puzzle over the exact cause of the deaths, some wonder if the Winnebago corridor holds more, yet undiscovered deer carcasses. For now, at least, it will be one more unanswered question as recent snowfalls would have hidden remaining carcasses. When Farrell revisited the site last Thursday, the deer he had seen earlier were now mostly snow covered and virtually indistinguishable from nearby logs and deadfalls.
From the Iowa DNR:
Conservationists Puzzle Over Deaths of Forest City Deer
by Lowell Washburn
FOREST CITY - In addition to providing scenes of incredible wonder and beauty, the Iowa outdoors is also a place of mystery. One of those outdoor question marks this week is, why are the deer dying in Forest City?
The dead deer were first reported to DNR last Thursday by Calvary Baptist Church pastor, Doug Farrell. An avid outdoorsman, Farrell discovered the white-tails while hunting for shed antlers along a wooded stretch of the Winnebago River near the north edge of town. The discovery of a couple of small sheds offered a pleasant beginning to the outing, but what came next was more alarming.
"The next thing I found was a dead buck stretched out on the snow," says Farrell. "I could see that the deer had shed it antlers, so I knew that it wasn't a fawn. I soon found another deer, and then another."
During the remainder of his excursion, Farrell discovered a total of four dead bucks along the river's wooded corridor. A fifth deer, this time a doe, was found at a nearby residential area. None of the deer were young-of-the-year [fawns] and all five were located within a total distance measuring less than 800 yards.
"At first I thought - One deer, maybe not too unusual. But then, when I found this many all in a row over such a short distance, I realized it was something very unusual," said Farrell. "I decided I should give someone a call."
"Wintering deer have traditionally used these river bottoms for years," notes Farrell. "In the past, I might see more than 100 deer using the area at one time. This year, the most I've seen is 16 in one group. But there are tracks and trails all over, and many of those trails lead directly into the residential areas. Deer are hungry. Late in the day, you can see them make a beeline to the backyard bird feeders."
There's no question that Iowa is currently enduring one of the toughest winters on record. But although starvation would seem a likely cause of death, Forest City deer carcasses are in surprisingly good body condition. And although no can say with certainty, biologists speculate that hunger may have still played a critical role in the deer's demise. As extreme snow depths and this year's record period of continuous snow cover continues to prevent deer from reaching waste grain, local white-tail populations have turned to alternate food sources. Many deer have "moved to town" where they attempt to scrounge a living from backyard feeders.
But although bird feeders may provide hungry deer with a welcome snack, a handful of sunflower hulls or few bites of bird seed are not enough to maintain winter body weights on a herd of large mammals. With the arrival of January's prolonged and relentless siege of low temperatures, drifting snow, and polar wind chills, deer already under stress may have been pushed beyond the point of recovery. Although conservation officers note that many North Iowa communities have similar situations, Forest City is the only town reporting white-tail mortalities.
As area conservationists continue to puzzle over the exact cause of the deaths, some wonder if the Winnebago corridor holds more, yet undiscovered deer carcasses. For now, at least, it will be one more unanswered question as recent snowfalls would have hidden remaining carcasses. When Farrell revisited the site last Thursday, the deer he had seen earlier were now mostly snow covered and virtually indistinguishable from nearby logs and deadfalls.
