Originally Posted by CNC
Originally Posted by Buckwheat
Deer are not Natural "Expanders" into New areas as Turkeys will do. If there is decent cover and what they sense as adequate food they will increase the population of these "Bubbles" spoken of to a point of almost starvation and or poor health conditions.


All of those does you see feeding on the side of 29 and 82 in the winter are doing so due to expansion pressure pushing them outwards and forcing them to feed on the perimeter of their bubble. Notice they don’t do that all year long……only when they’re forced to…..The next step beyond that if pressure gets high enough is for them start venturing back and forth to the other side of the highway…….Too much of that back and forth for very long and it results in getting whapped by a car.....which moderates pressure and expansion


They’re doing so because the state highway dept has planted crimson clover and rye grass along the highway. It’s not due to being forced to. Deer are incredibly loyal to their home range areas, even under pressure from limited resources. I’ve seen that repeated my entire life. All this talk about pregnant or nursing does shifting home ranges due to resource allocation, do you have anything to substantiate that, or is it speculation and theory? There’s lots of theories out there. Fact is deer are individuals. Some choose to stay in a tight core area, some a larger home range, and others are roamers. It all depends on their individual characteristics more so than resource availability. If it was resource availability, or lack thereof, you’d see mass exodus of deer from areas of high populations and degraded habitat, into areas with better habitat, and you do not see that on a large scale. What you actually see in the real world, is deer choosing to continue use of the same areas (with seasonal shifts), even if it ends up costing physical fitness to do so.