Return of the wolves: How deer escape tactics help save their lives

Date:  February 27, 2019

Source:  University of Washington

As gray wolves continue to make a strong comeback in Washington state, their presence can't help but impact other animals -- particularly the ones these large carnivores target as prey.

White-tailed deer and mule deer, two distinct species common in Washington, are among wolves' favorite catch. Wolves will chase deer great distances -- sometimes upwards of 6 miles (10 kilometers) -- in search of a satisfying meal. How these two deer species respond to the threat of being pursued by wolves in the early years of this predator's return could shed light on changes to their behavior and numbers.

To help answer this question, researchers from the University of Washington and other institutions monitored the behavior and activity of wolves and deer in Washington for three years. They found that mule deer exposed to wolves, in particular, are changing their behavior to spend more time away from roads, at higher elevations and in rockier landscapes.

"In any particular ecosystem, if you have a predator returning, prey are unlikely to all respond similarly," said senior author Aaron Wirsing, an associate professor in the UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. "We show that wolves don't have a uniform effect on different deer species."

Their results were published Dec. 11 in the journal Oecologia.

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