We had what most hunter fear last year, a localized die off of several hundred deer in a very concentrated area. Almost 100% total die off. Our deer population had gotten to such over populated levels that the biologist were monitoring for such an event. It appears to have burned itself out because it happen so fast that we were lucky it could not spread. Had it taken longer to spread deer movement could have spread it everywhere and the death rate would have been staggering. Disease outbreaks in stressed, highly dense population are like atomic bombs. Extreme to the max.. They think that they had a 100% death rate in area of several miles.
How many deer are too many some ask? A state biologist suggested that one deer per five to ten acres is a viable population. Of course he is not feeding them on his land with his crops. On one farm I own last year there were a total of 73 deer killed on just over 400 acres. You can not grow soybeans on that farm. The deer population does not appear to be impacted yet by hunting or die off. But the farmer who tends it hates deer destruction with a passion and would welcome a 90% reduction in population like rain in August. People who are against hunting should consider that unchecked deer numbers are destined to crash and the die off will occur as Mother Nature corrects mankind's disruption of equilibrium.
