Arizona has a small population of whitetails, though they tend to prefer areas with more vegetation. Bobcats and coyotes also prey on deer, but human hunting is the main way to control their populations. March 29, 2021 6:10 am. Title. This can have a Catch-22 effect on the wildlife population in the state. If you see a sick or abnormally thin deer or deer dead of unknown causes, please report its location to the CWD hotline: (866) CWD-WATCH (293-9282) . Clearly restocking, management efforts, and the shift away from clearing land for agriculture have worked, to the point where many counties are now trying to lower the number of deer to a more sustainable number. The population is thriving, and Louisiana permits controlled hunting to manage it. Deer are a favorite big game animal. While overall the deer population is considered to be stable, the migratory populations in the Sierra Nevada and the black-tailed deer in the northwest are likely in decline, while suburban populations are increasing. It has around 100,000 white-tail deer, 100,000 mule deer, 100,000 black-tail deer, and more than 5,000 Columbian white-tail deer. Mule deer are native to the state, and the white-tailed deer were introduced by Idaho Fish & Game in the 1950s to present more hunting opportunities. DEC determines desired deer population changes using data on public preferences and deer impacts to forests. Many towns are trying to figure out programs that will work for them to keep the deer population in check. 84 . Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries: Deer Research, Management and Reports. Their population is recovering due to prohibiting antlerless harvest for a few years and milder winters. Michigan: 31 deer per square mile. When alarmed, white-tailed deer will raise their tail straight up, flashing the white. Restrictive game laws also helped allow the population to grow. On the other hand, hunting them provides food for many and their meat is very prized. Damage to landscape overpopulation of deer in the suburbs makes them more and more apt to use your flower beds and gardens as a snack station. Like most deer, black-tail browse on what vegetation is available in each season. Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife: White-tailed deer in Maine. Deer populations are actually higher than they were historically in many areas, or they are at the point of exceeding the carrying capacity of their local environment. The Columbian white-tailed deer is an endangered species so is protected rather than hunted. State wildlife officials say the actual number may be higher. Making deer dependent on human feeding can make them more vulnerable to predators, diseases, and vehicle collisions. There are approximately 5.6 Million White-tailed deer in Texas. New Hampshire Fish & Game: Deer Hunting in New Hampshire. Even though black-tailed deer are considered subspecies of mule deer, there is still some debate on their origins and they are often counted separately. Deer species in the U.S. are split into eastern and western groups, with some cross over in the middle. New Mexico is home to mule deer, Coue deer, and Texas white-tails. This includes during the winter and early spring, they feed on Douglas fir, western red cedar, red huckleberry, salal, deer fern, and lichens growing on trees. Nebraska is another state that is home to both white-tailed and mule . They theorize habitat change, two decades of aggressive antlerless deer harvest, and the complete colonization of the state by coyotes and their impact on fawn survival as possible causes. For white-tailed deer, the last mention I could find was about 520,000 around 2015. . After many years of stability, the state reports deer population trended downwards between 2003 and 2015. Trying to figure out their population in the state is challenging due to the remote and densely forested areas where they live. White-tailed deer are mainly found in the Black Hills, Bighorn Basin and Riverton regions. There are an estimated 35 to 36 million deer in the U.S. Once hunted almost to extinction, they have made a successful recovery. Tennessee hunters harvested 159,879 deer in the state this hunting season. You can find blacktail deer in western Oregon, whitetail deer in northeastern Oregon and mule deer east of the Cascade range. Things began to turn around when state refuges were created and periodic deer stocking occurred. Idaho is home to both mule deer and white-tailed deer. Considering our current coyote population, these numbers go a long way in explaining why the deer harvests have decreased over the last few years. There are nearly 2,000 different species! According to the states department of fish and wildlife, since the early 90s the deer population has stayed between 400,000 and just under 700,000. Outdoor Alabama: Deer hunting information and regulations. 42. They are adaptable to a wide range of climate conditions. While populations still continue to fluctuate due to habitat loss, weather, disease and other factors, it remains in the hundreds of thousands. Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission: information for hunting in Florida. This means they fork as they grow. Colorado Parks and Wildlife wants to hear from you about the current Colorado big game hunting season structure and possible changes for 2025-2029. Virginia has a healthy population of white-tail deer. Predators kill white-tailed deer. There are eight accepted subspecies in the U.S., including the two black-tailed species. Deer in the suburbs are well-known for eating the nice flowers and shrubs youve spent time planting in your yard. While deer are prey for some large carnivores, there are not enough of these predators to keep deer numbers in check. Over time this heavy hunting and habitat loss took a real toll. It also has about 320,000 black-tail deer, and the rest are mule deer. Thank you for visiting! Most of these are mule deer. They are small deer with fully grown males rarely weighing over 100 pounds. Deer where nearly extirpated from the state by the early 1900s, with only a few thousand left in remote pockets. This includes plant shoots, legumes, cacti, leaves, grasses, fruit, corn, acorns and mushrooms. Rhode Island only has 18,000 deer and Delaware comes in at 45,000. According to the Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, most of the state conservation efforts are funded through hunting and fishing license sales and firearms sales. Hunters in Region B the remainder of the state harvested 62,916 deer, down 13% from 72,346 . According to the state of Massachusetts deer management page, there are an estimated 95,000 white-tailed deer in the state. View the latest Missouri deer harvest numbers by county. They seem to be everywhere, but how populous are they? However, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game recently added white-tailed deer to the states hunting regulations since the species is slowly migrating into the state. Like many other states, Kentucky outlawed deer hunting in the early part of the 20th century. They are allowed to be hunted and in the 2017-2018 season just over 3,000 were harvested. They may occasionally eat small animals like mice or birds, but it isnt very common. The tail is straight and black on top with white underneath. Deer harvests began to increase again in 2016, possibly due to coyote densities declining. The 2,500 hunter sample size is more than adequate, statistically, to produce precise . Hawaii has about 1,000 black-tail deer and 110,000 Axis deer. A 2020 study by the Mule Deer Working Group put total deer population (including black-tailed and mule deer) in California at 460,420. Estimated at 314,850 in 2020, down from 372,500 in 2018. According to this article in the Washington Times Herald, as of 2020 the white-tailed deer population in Indiana was estimated at 680,000. As in other states, deer tend to live in different regions. According to this article, the DNREC estimated the deer population at the start of the 2020-21 season at 45,000 white-tailed deer. Mule deer are found in the central mountains and southern deserts of the state, while white-tailed deer are most populous in the northern forested areas. White-tailed deer dominate Texas, being found in 252 out of 254 counties across the state with an estimated population of 5.3 million. White-tailed deer prefer the more agricultural and upland areas of the state, whereas the sika deer prefer marshes and forested wetlands. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation: deer hunting resources. A 2021 estimate puts mule deer at a population of between 90,000 130,000. The state initially planned to wait for the fall of 2021 to hold a harvest. Historically mountain lions and wolves helped to control the deer population, but with the absence of those predators today hunters are the only real population control. Some conservationists think the number of deer is too high. On Saturday, February 18, 2023, staff from CPW were able to recapture and refit the collar on male wolf 2101 near North Park. 4382 WMAs. The state does not count its two species separately. In Wisconsin, there have been 1,822 entries for the buck, which is . The state is also home to the rare, endemic Key deer, which is the smallest subspecies of white-tailed deer. Have some feedback for us? Iowa has produced some of the largest bucks in the history of our country. Colorados white-tailed deer mostly live in the eastern and central mountain areas. In 2017 the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division reported an estimated population of 1.27 million. Recently the state has been increasing their any-deer (does or bucks) permits in an effort to bring down the population due to complains about too many deer and high levels of Lyme disease in certain areas. In the 1800s, however, several Axis deer from India were sent to Hawaii. Thank you for reading! If this growth rate remained constant until year 10, the population would number about 900, or 1 deer per 1.3 acres. Because of this permits and licenses are becoming more flexible opening up new opportunities for the states hunters. An article published in November of 2021 in the CT Insider quotes the CT DEEP stating that the three year average for total deer population in the state is 101,000. Thus far they report that the harvest has not met the numbers they want, and the state is continuing to work on management strategies. In the late 1800s, India gifted eight Axis deer to King Kamehameha V. These eight ended up on Molokai and have since been introduced to most of the other Hawaiian islands. Factors causing deer populations to grow in recent years include expansion of homes into rural areas that are hospitable for deer but are not suitable for hunting. Wildlife Informer is reader-supported. Late spring to fall, they consume grasses, blackberries, apples, fireweed, pearly everlasting, forbs, salmonberry, salal, and maple. They are an attractive deer with a bright orange-brown coat covered in white spots, much like the fawn of white-tailed deer. Recent estimates indicate about 80,000 to 100,000 mule deer, and 10,000 to 15,000 Coues and other white-tailed deer. Oklahoma has about 2,00 to 3,000 mule deer, and the rest are white-tail deer. Ohio's average harvest compiled from the past three seasons is 184,746 deer. Black-tailed deer in their native Pacific northwest range live in dense coastal rainforest and semi-open habitats including riparian forest (along river banks) and areas of tangled shrubs and thicket. Although we think of deer as a forest animal, they also thrive in Floridas swampy coastal regions. The Vermont fish & wildlife page reports that the pre-hunt estimate for white-tailed deer population in the state was approximately 133,000. The main deer population in Utah is mule deer, with a 2021 estimate of 314,850. With larger deer populations there is also an increased risk of elevated deer tick populations. This not only allows them to digest a wide variety of foods, but they can eat and wait until later to digest. Based on hunting data the white-tailed deer population in 2017 was about 135,000. Like many other states, deer and other large game in Iowa was hunted to near extinction by the early 1800s. Arkansas nearly lost its deer population. It was sometimes an up and down battle for the deer, but things really began to improve in the early 1970s when management of deer was turned over from the state legislature to the department of natural resources. . However the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says that they are both crossing the border with Canada and starting to colonize. White-tailed deer are an important game animal in Michigan. Like other states, Mississippi used conservation efforts to bring deer back from the brink of extinction. Overpopulation of deer can damage ecosystems by preventing forest regrowth and causing declines in plant diversity. Iowa Department of Natural Resources: Deer hunting information. This time the population grew to 212 deer in only 6 years. It is important they have access to both the cover provided by the forest and the grazing in open areas and along the forest edge. While statewide estimates are gained mainly through harvest data, in 2021 a thermal imaging drone was flown over Arlington in efforts to gain more accurate data. 4) Iowa: Deer population around 400,000. Download the report for the 2021 season. However Texas is also home to mule deer, who live in the Trans-Pecos and Panhandle regions. On average in North America, males weigh 121 331 pounds and females weigh 95 198 pounds. This represents a 2.4 percent increase in harvest from 2019 (193,073) and is 38 percent below the record harvest established in 2002 (319,902). Like other deer species they grow new antlers each spring and shed them during the winter. White-tailed deer are classified as the species Odocoileus virginianus, the Virginia white-tailed deer. Williamson, WV (25661) Today. Upwards of 400,000 deer are hunted in the state each year. They mostly live along the watersheds of the states major rivers. Indiana: 28 deer per square mile. Georgia Wildlife Resources Division: deer hunting information. In the early 1900s laws regulating deer hunting were passed but did little good as they went unenforced for the most part. White-tailed deer are an important game animal in the state. White-tailed deer are statewide but more populous in the east, while mule deer are found in the western two-thirds of the state. Only about 1,000 of these deer are white-tail deer. Deer are popular among hunters and wildlife watchers. Unregulated commercial hunting and subsistence hunting threatened to eliminate the white-tailed deer from much of its range. The FWC is working to reduce the risk of CWD spreading into this state with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, hunters, captive cervid owners, landowners, and the public. It is one of the few states where mule deer are a more popular game animal than whitetails. I am owned by two dogs who take me on hikes in the mountains where we see coyotes, black bears, and wild turkeys. Wyoming is home to 70,000 white-tail deer and about 330,000 mule deer. The Columbian white-tail is a rare species named after the Columbia River. Contact the AZ Animals editorial team. According to Colorado Parks & Wildlife, the deer and elk meat industry begun in Colorado as early as 1880. According to one source, the introduction of the white-tailed deer did not negatively impact the mule deer, elk or moose in the state as they occupy different types of habitat. Deer hunting in the state is an important tool to raise money for wildlife management and land acquisition. Generally cloudy. Growth has boomed since with an estimated population today of 700,000 750,000 white-tailed deer. I have seen some debate on this but at the time of writing this article the consensus is that black-tailed deer are a subspecies of the mule deer. 2021's deer season in Kentucky exceeded already high numbers coming out of the pandemic-affected 2020 . The others are black-tail deer and mule deer. As conservation efforts increased, deer restocking programs helped bring in just over 4,000 deer from other states between 1928 and 1992. Indiana Department of Natural Resources: White-tailed Deer History & Biology. The Sitka blacktail deer is native to the coastal rainforests of southeastern Alaska, and has been introduced to areas of South Central Alaska. The estimated all-time low whitetail deer population numbers in Louisiana was about 20,000 in 1925. Engage with us in 2023. "With the information we gathered from the aerial counts and the harvest reports we can then adjust the hunting permit levels for that area," Palmer said. Have some feedback for us? Wyoming Game & Fish Department: Deer Hunting. Deer Population by State: How Many Deer are in the U.S.? 2021 population numbers listed by the state estimate 293,950 mule deer and 212,814 white-tailed deer. White-tailed deer in Florida tend to be a little smaller than in other states, due in part to the warm climate. Three of those are abundant enough to hunt, the white-tailed deer, mule deer and black-tailed deer. This booming population now has deer in overabundance and the state DEC aims to control this with managed harvesting. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. The majority of the North American population lives east of the Rocky Mountains. Arizona Game & Fish: deer hunting rules and regulations. Hunters Enjoying More Older Bucks Although they were once almost wiped out from many states, they have successfully repopulated most of their former territories. The mule deer population has been in decline since 1980, decreasing from 300,000 to todays estimate of 170,000 190,000 in 2020. Wildlife biologists suggest developing softwood, nut-bearing habitats as a better alternative to human feeding. Current Management. New Hampshires Fish and Game Department says human feeding has damaged its deer populations. Today, the population sits around 660,000. Learn more about us & read our affiliate disclosure. Sampling of ticks in the ESA, conducted in May 2021 by the MSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife found a high number of black-legged ticks (42 juveniles and 1 adult), which are known vectors for a number of diseases, including Lyme disease . Estimates of deer density were: White = rare, absent, or urban area with unknown population, Green = less than 15 deer per square mile, Yellow = 15 to 30 deer per square mile, Orange = 30 to 40 deer per square mile, or Red = greater than 45 deer per square mile. A useful trick if they are grazing and need to quickly flee from a predator. The white-tail deer is the most common type of deer hunted in the United States. They also state the greatest density of deer can be found in Rockingham, Hillsborough and Cheshire counties, as well as along the Connecticut River Valley in Grafton County.