Most deer in Utah do not move far from where they were born, typically migrating 10 to 15 miles per year.
They tend to walk the paths that their mothers teach them, and that is confirmed by data collected from GPS units attached to collars by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources biologists.
It’s really kind of blowing the lid on what we know about deer and their movements, said Blair Stringham, the division’s migration initiative coordinator, in an interview ahead of Utah’s general deer hunt, which begins Saturday.
In 2017, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources launched a statewide initiative to identify, protect and improve movement corridors for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife species that provide invaluable information to wildlife managers.
GPS technology allows the department to collect data on deer migration patterns, their health, longevity and where and how they die.
Stringham is reluctant to make broad statements about the welfare of the deer, as much depends on where they are born. Therefore, the unit tracks them in each designated hunting unit.
For example, last winter’s heavy snowfall led to lower survival rates for mature elk deer and fawns in Cache, Weber, Summit and Morgan counties. According to a press release from the department, this allows for fewer deer, especially yearling bucks, for hunters in those areas in the fall.
We catch about 1000 deer every year. We close them almost all over the state. We have 26 hunting units. They’re basically county-sized areas of sorts that include winter and summer range populations of deer, Stringham said.
How far do they go?
It varies a lot from deer to deer and where they live, Stringham said.
If you’re a deer west of I-15 in the more desert habitat of Utah, those deer don’t really move around that much. Their migrations are generally shorter, and many times they roam the wilderness with a smaller home range, he said.
It’s a different story for deer living along the Wasatch Front or higher up in the Uinta Mountains.
That’s mostly because they spend the summer at 10,000 or 11,000 feet and then move down because of snow and food availability, he said.
It is not unusual for these deer to migrate 30-40 miles. Stringham said our deer travel long distances between winter and summer ranges.
Migration patterns are a learned behavior, so generations of deer tend to follow the same routes.
So they will learn it from their mother or pass it on to their offspring. And so many of these migration corridors have been there for a long, long time and could be a problem if a new road is built through an area where deer generations have passed, he said.
One well traveled bird
Migration data revealed a deer’s habits wildlife biologists consider unusual, even among deer living high up in the mountains of Utah.
The longest was a deer on the north slope of the Uintas between Evanston and the top of the Uintas along the Mirror Lake Highway. It went due east along the entire north side of Unitas and then south toward Vernal. Wintered in the vernal area. It was a migration of over 70 miles. It’s definitely kind of extreme, Stringham said.
The main causes of death
Heavy snowfall in Utah has clearly hurt deer populations in parts of the state, but other factors are contributing to their deaths.
Car-deer accidents kill thousands of deer every year. A 2012 study by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources found 10,000 such collisions that year, though the division built fences and wildlife bridges along migration routes to help reduce those numbers.
According to him, about 20 thousand deer are killed every year during annual deer hunts.
Otherwise, accidents, disease and predators kill significant numbers of deer.
We often see that they die when they are born. Strange things happen, like breaking their legs or falling into holes. And then the predators. We’ve noticed our mountain lion has been pretty healthy lately and we’ve seen them get a few deer. Coyotes and bears will also get some, Stringham said.
There is no single factor that decimates deer populations outside of better habitat. There are many different things that can kill a deer at any time. It’s just a tough world out there, he says.
Average lifespan
The average lifespan of a deer in Utah is four to five years, but a lot depends on where they live.
The first two years are really hard for deer, especially young fawns born to overwintering mothers.
Life can be quite difficult the next year as well, when their mothers sort of abandon them and have new cubs. If they can be 2 years old or older, their lives will be better for them. We’ve seen some of our bucks go into adolescence, bucks don’t usually live long.
Again, location is important.
Those who typically have to move less tend to live a little longer, he said.
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