Effects of reopening hunting on survival of White-tailed Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, Québec

Abstract

Between 1996 and 1998, 59 White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in two major wintering areas in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, Québec, were fitted with radio collars and followed using telemetry. The study period coincided with the reopening of hunting following three years of closure. Diminished deer numbers had been linked to severe winters intensified by Coyote predation. During the hunting moratorium, starvation, predation and vehicle collisions were the principal causes of deer mortality. Following the moratorium, hunting became the main cause of adult mortality (39% of known deaths) while starvation mostly affected fawns (13% of known deaths). Contrary to expectations, annual survival of adult females (0.73) did not differ statistically from that of adult males (0.66), despite firearm hunting being permitted only on adult males. It seems that accidental hunting and poaching of females in addition to bow hunting harvest lowered female survival rate and limited the possibility of population growth. Eastern Québec provides marginal habitat for deer due to severe winters. We thus conclude that maintenance of White-tailed Deer populations in this region requires strict adherence by hunters to hunting regulations, in addition to intensive management of wintering areas and supplementary feeding during harsh winters.