Growing deer population seeks winter eats in Missoula
Gardeners are noticing dug-up shrubs and cleared lawns, thanks to the earlier-than-usual snow cover this year.
Area wildlife experts say the snow hasn't changed feeding patterns, but the number of urban deer is growing troublesome.
"It seems like I'm seeing more deer than ever before in the Missoula urban area," said Peter Colb, the Montana State University Extension Service forester and University of Montana forestry professor. "For the past 14 years, I've been walking to campus; it's only this year when I've had to twice jump off the sidewalk because of stampeding deer."
Arborvitae, dogwood, young fruit trees and other shrubbery are favorite targets for deer year-round. Combine those offerings with a helpful-but-clueless neighbor who puts out grain or other feed, and you've got a magnet to draw wildlife into the streetscape.
"Urban areas provide browse that's not available in surrounding areas, wind breaks and protection from predators," said MSU Extension wildlife specialist Jim Knight. "Over generations, they start taking advantage of that. If they have little bit of food, they'll stay there instead of moving out to wild areas where they'll find more suitable food."
That's a problem for the deer, too. Their digestive systems depend on microflora - types of bacteria that help break down specific kinds of plants. If they spend too much time eating landscaping they're not adapted for, deer can literally starve to death on a full stomach, Knight said.
"Smaller deer are more desperate," Knight said. "This year's fawns don't know alternate places to feed. That's why you see fuzzy-faced deer - their hair follicles have lost their fat, so the hair just stands up. They don't have the fat reserves that older deer do."
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokeswoman Vivica Crowser said her office is constantly trying to remind people to let wild animals fend for themselves. While many think they're helping out struggling deer, in fact they're making life more dangerous.
"Setting out food tends to concentrate the deer, and that gets attractive for mountain lions and then becomes a safety concern," Crowser said. Congregating around unnatural food can also help spread disease and cause other health problems, she said.
Bitterroot Valley residents have noticed a (literally) bigger problem this winter: elk hanging around in fields where they were rarely seen before. FWP wildlife biologist Craig Jourdonnais said he's been working with farmers to address the issue before the elk wear out their welcome.
"Many of the landowners aren't set up with protection for haystacks and aren't used to dealing with elk," Jourdonnais said. "Landowners that don't have livestock in their pastures now should open gates or drop wires to let the elk move easier through the pastures. That will lower the damage to fences."
Fortunately, Montana wildlife have been foraging for themselves long before we started beautifying yards and parks. The fact their forays can be traced by marks in the snow doesn't indicate new trouble.
"They've got to find food all winter long," Crowser said. "Having a little earlier snow won't make a difference that much. But what we'd prefer them to do is find it outside yards."
No comments:
Post a Comment