September 9th 2024
Frequently Asked Questions: White-tailed deer
1. What is white-tailed deer overabundance?
White-tailed deer overabundance occurs when the deer population exceeds the carrying capacity of their habitat, which can degrade the environment and increase human-wildlife conflict.
2. What’s wrong with having an overabundance of white-tailed deer in southern Québec?
An overabundance of white-tailed deer in southern Québec can cause many problems, including:
- Overbrowsing: Deer consume large quantities of vegetation, which can threaten native flora and change ecosystems.
- Loss of biodiversity: Overbrowsing can reduce the diversity of plant species and, in turn, affect wildlife.
- Agricultural damage: Deer can severely damage crops and orchards.
- Vehicle collisions: An increased deer population can spike deer-vehicle collisions and potentially endanger humans.
3. What contributes to deer overabundance?
Many factors contribute to deer overabundance, including:
- Lack of natural predators: Predators that help control deer populations, such as wolves and cougars, are rare in southern Québec.
- Urbanization: Urban sprawl leads to a loss of habitat for predators of deer, while providing more food sources for deer.
- Mild winters: Milder winters can lead to higher deer survival rates, so more of them successfully reproduce.
4. How does overabundance affect the ecosystem?
Deer overabundance can:
- Hinder forest regeneration: Deer feed on young trees and shrubs, preventing forest growth.
- Erode the soil: Overbrowsing can cause soil degradation and erosion.
- Alter vegetation communities: Selective browsing by deer can change the composition of vegetation communities.
- Cause competition and changes in other species’ habitats: Deer overabundance can increase competition for resources and change the habitats of other animals and plants, disrupting the natural balance of the ecosystem.
- Help invasive species flourish: When deer change natural habitats, they can help invasive plant species flourish and overtake native species, further damaging ecosystems.
5. How are deer populations kept under control?
Deer management strategies include:
- Controlled hunting: Regulated hunting helps keep deer populations under control.
- Habitat management: This involves creating and maintaining habitats that support natural predators and have fewer food sources for deer.
- Public awareness: Educating the public on the impact of deer overabundance and on the ways to minimize human-deer conflict is also a useful strategy.
6. How can the public help?
Members of the public can help by:
- Supporting hunting and conservation initiatives
- Landscaping their gardens to be deer resistant
- Reporting any deer-related observations and problems to local wildlife authorities
7. What kind of research is being done on white-tailed deer overabundance on Mont Saint-Hilaire?
Many scientists are conducting research to study the impact of white-tailed deer overabundance and improve current practices, including by:
- Using exclosures to study deer impact: For almost 20 years, we’ve been using a network of exclosures to monitor and study the impact of deer on vegetation. Learn more.
- Finding new ways to monitor deer: We are currently exploring and developing new techniques to estimate deer populations more accurately. Learn more.
- Studying the link between deer and Lyme disease risk: We are currently studying the link between deer populations and the risk of transmitting Lyme disease. Learn more.
The Gault Nature Reserve is proud to be able to support multiple deer-related research projects to improve current monitoring and protection practices through our Gault Research Awards program.
8. Where can I find more information about white-tailed deer?
- You can find out more about white-tailed deer by visiting the following government of Québec website: Cerf de Virginie (French only).
- Read this document (French only) to learn more ways to mitigate damage caused by white-tailed deer.
- Read this piece of graphic journalism: Le cerf qui cache la forêt (French only).
Learn more
Deer Exclosures
May 3, 2022. 16 years of monitoring white trillium at the Gault Nature Reserve.
I see a deer here, a deer there… are they everywhere?
March 2, 2022. Monitoring deer population sizes is an important conservation issue.
THE DEERS LOVE THE FLOWERS TOO!
May 18, 2021. Forest ecology is a complicated web of interactions and over browsing by deer can disrupt the strands of the web and the balance of these interactions.
Deux fois trop de cerfs sur le mont Saint-Hilaire
Article published (in French) on July 12, 2018 in Le Devoir by Amélie Daoust-Boisvert for the Grandeur Nature series.
