Reasons For The Decrease Of White-Tailed Deer Populations

Over just a century ago the whitetail deer population became nearly extinct, mostly due to a rapid expansion in the railroad system. At this same time market hunting, weak enforcement of game laws, and habitat loss contributed to the dangerously low deer populations in the late 1800’s. In states like Kansas and Indiana deer were completely extinct, being endangered in many others. With the whitetail deer population doubling every two years there is an estimated thirty million deer in the United States (Rooney, 2012). Although with these over-abundant populations comes the destruction of natural resources along with diseases and other factors that can tremendously affect the population. While there are many factors that play an active role in the declination of Whitetail deer populations, chronic wasting disease is just one of them.

The scale and pace of change is dramatic; for example, the extinction of species is occurring at around 100-fold pre-human rates4. The population sizes of vertebrate species have, on average, declined by half over the last 45 years5. More than 2.3 million km2 of primary forest has been felled since 20006. About

There is no other big-game animal in North America like the white-tailed deer. The whitetails habitat is so widespread that it covers just about all of North America and parts of Central America. The white-tailed deer is the most commonly hunted big game animal ever. Before the settlers arrived, an estimated 30 million whitetails inhabited what is now the United States and Canada. But as settlers pursued them for food and market hunters slaughtered them with snares, traps, and set guns, the deer population underwent a disastrous decline. By 1900, only 400,000 whitetails remained.

The coyote will catch the deer and eat them, but mostly for survival as their food but the deer will mostly eat the grass as prey and survival and the coyotes are the predators. While the white tailed deer are grazing it is easier for the coyote to catch the white-tailed deer. In the spring the coyotes will most likely catch the fawn in open feilds where wolves and bears are not. So they would not be the prey but they are anyway. If the coyotes catch enough deer and savage them, then the deer might still be there for the winter or for the summer. The white tailed deer are the main prey for the coyotes because, it

When herbivorous species such as white-tailed deer and elks are the main predators in a habitat, they create an imbalance in the habitat, and force other species in the habitat to go extinct. Natural predation also has a stronger impact in stabilizing or reducing the population of white-tailed deer than human hunting alone. One of the main reasons for the overpopulation of the deer was the extinction of their predators. Every animal in the food web is highly important in keeping the balance in the ecosystem. Yellowstone National Park was a great example of how every species support the

They do this to adapt to the colour of the current season they are in. This can benefit in many ways such as camouflage or hide from predators. The White-tails deer is an important part of the environment as it is a good food source for bobcats, panthers, and coyotes. Another extremely important role in the environment they play is eating invasive plant species since they are herbivores. If the White-tail deer was to be taken out of the ecosystem, a lot of these plants would invade or

Forests have been cut, crops planted, pastures seeded, and urban areas paved. One of the most troubling consequences of human modification of ecosystems is an ongoing loss of species and therefore a loss of biodiversity around the world. The current extinctions have a human cause: habitat loss (such as clearing of tropical rainforests); the introduction of invasive species; unregulated hunting and fishing; and pollution of water, air, and

Columbian White-tailed deer are distinguishable because they have a long black tail on the outside, and the male's antlers point all rise from the one main beam. The Columbian white-tail is one of the large subspecies with "antlers narrowly spreading and curving steeply upward” Columbian white-tailed deer's diets consist of young willow, cottonwood, alder and other deciduous trees in riverbanks and the surrounding area. This is where they can usually be found. Male Columbian white-tailed deer are bigger than females, they have large antlers and they shed them every winter and regrow them in spring. Both sexes have a white underneath their tail which is why they got the name.

The absence of wolves has allowed for smaller predators to increase in population and range, such as coyotes and raccoons. These species in turn cause greater exploitation of their specific food sources. Coyotes have now assumed the position of top predator in California, making populations of foxes dwindle as they compete for the similar food sources.

In this article, authors William Ripple and Robert Beschta focus on the issue of predation and the way it affects biodiversity and otherwise alters ecosystems. While many other studies have stressed the lethal effects of predation by carnivores, the authors of this study have chosen to focus on how nonlethal outcomes of predation affect the structure and function of ecosystems. The authors give two main objectives to their study: first to provide a short synthesis of the potential ecosystem responses to predation risk in a three-level trophic cascade involving large carnivores, hoofed animals, and vegetation; and secondly to present research that centers on wolves, elk, and woody browse species in the northern area of Yellowstone National

1. The population of elk, mule deer and bison will increase because there are not many predators anymore. 2. Competition will soon rise with the increase of the elk, mule deer and bison population. There are too many of them and too little resources for them all to consume.

Even though whitetail deer can grow to large sizes they don't even eat meet to do it. Deer are strictly herbivores that don't even chew. A deer’s stomach consists of four chambers. Because of this, they can eat some poisonous mushrooms that are lethal to humans. However, deer mainly eat legumes, shoots, and members of the grass family. Deer use

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have historical significance throughout the state of Ohio. Ohio’s ancient civilizations relied heavily on white-tailed deer for food, tools, and clothing. Deer were attracted to the region because of the agricultural practices of Native Americans such as growing corn and the prevalence of hard mast . The population of white-tailed deer was healthy prior to European settlement, as predators such as the North American cougar (Puma concolor), eastern timber wolf (Canis lupus lycaon), and native americans kept the population under control. There are an estimated 500,000 white-tailed deer in Ohio, the species can be found in all 88 counties. Populations today are managed by a regulated hunting season. (Hulbert 1910) The objective of the study is to determine the age, sex, and distinguishing characteristics of white-tailed deer that are in both areas

White tailed deer have a very strong sense of smell. Their smell is one of the most important senses that guides them through their life. They rely

Reintroduction of wolves brought about recovery of plants and animals in Yellowstone National Park. In 1990s, deer were overpopulated due to absence of its predator, wolves. Regardless of people’s efforts, the number of deer kept increasing. As a result,