Migrating mule deer don't need directions, study finds

Date: August 23, 2019

Source: University of Wyoming

How do big-game animals know where to migrate across hundreds of miles of vast Wyoming landscapes year after year?

Among scientists, there are two camps of thought. First is that animals use local cues within their vicinity to determine where to migrate. Animals might move up to areas with greener forage -- often termed green-wave surfing -- or move down from mountains with deeper snow. The second idea is that animals develop memory of the landscape where they live and then use that information to guide their movements.

Recent research from the University of Wyoming has found that memory explains much of deer behavior during migration: Mule deer navigate in spring and fall mostly by using their knowledge of past migration routes and seasonal ranges.

The study found that the location of past years' migratory route and summer range had 2-28 times more influence on a deer's choice of a migration path than environmental factors such as tracking spring green-up, autumn snow depth or topography.

"These animals appear to have a cognitive map of their migration routes and seasonal ranges, which helps them navigate tens to hundreds of miles between seasonal ranges," says the lead author of the paper, Jerod Merkle, assistant professor and Knobloch Professor in Migration Ecology and Conservation in the Department of Zoology and Physiology at UW.

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No more deer in the headlights: Study finds large mammals do use road crossing structures

White-tailed deer and mule deer particularly likely to use road underpasses

Date:  November 17, 2017

Source:  Frontiers

Summary:

A pilot study finds that large mammals are more likely to use wildlife crossing structures than move past a random location in the surrounding habitat. Animal movement also varied between crossing structures in different locations, suggesting that location might be more important than design. These findings are a first step towards a better understanding of the effectiveness of wildlife crossing structures.

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Utah wants to kill coyotes – Usual rubbish logic applied

More Elkonomics, this time from Utah
May 2012. According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), "A new effort is underway to help mule deer in Utah". Now, given that more than 85,000 male deer are legally shot by hunters every year in Utah, you might have thought that the obvious way to ‘help mule deer' would be to reduce this number. But, in another classic case of Elkonomics, UDWR are offering a $50 reward for killing coyotes.

The effort is called the Predator-Control Incentive program. The program has one goal: To reduce and control the number of coyotes in areas in Utah that are inhabited by mule deer.

Cruel targeting of coyote with pups
The UDWR give advice on when to most effectively target Coyote. The basis of their advice is to target coyote with pups, so that it isn't just the coyote that is killed that dies, the pups won't survive either, presumably because they will starve to death.

UDWR website advises "Breaking up pairs in April is important because breaking the pairs up makes it difficult for the remaining adult to successfully raise a litter of pups. May and June are also important months to remove coyotes, especially those that are raising pups. Removing coyotes during this time period reduces the number of coyotes that are on the landscape before fawns are born and during the time the fawns are being born."

The basis of this programme is that, so hunters can have more fun (and UDWR more cash) hunting mule deer, they need to kill coyote that are hunting for food, and starve their pups. It just isn't fair that that coyote want to eat; they are spoiling hunter's fun.


Continued: http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/utah-coyote.html