What Do We Do with Too Many White-tailed Deer?

Tom Raney, Wright State University Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences recaps again what so many of us know...............the unnaturally large deer herds(10 to 40 deer per square km) that we have created through the elimination(and/or significant reduction)of Wolves and Cougars and manipulation of our open spaces(wooded suburbs with large edge type openings that deer thrive in) is dramatically changing the composition of our woodlands and spiking  lymes disease and agricultural damage.

A thorough recap of this significant problem is addressed in Tom's paper attached....................He notes accurately that while Bears and Coyotes can take as many as 50% of the fawns born each Summer, there does not appear to be any of reduction of deer populations in the areas where these predators exist.

Wolves and Cougars is the answer boys and girls..................in their correct historical densities........................just as the Yellowstone Wolves have halved the number of elk in the Greater YSK region since the Wolves re-introduction in 1995 so might this occur with Deer if the 100-120 pound Wolves and the 120-200 pound Cougars re-asserted their historical position atop the Wild America foodchain.

Have a read of Tom's paper below..............click on the link..................

http://www.actionbioscience.org/biodiversity/rooney.html