Deer In Winter

While it has been a great winter thus far for me and other humans who like to ski, it has been difficult one for the wildlife who must fend for themselves outside. The deep snow and cold has really hit the deer hard. Driving out to the airport you see them all along the road, and a bunch of moved into Abercrombie park for the winter (less snow in the woods by the coast and warmer too). These days I have to put the dogs on leashes when I take them for walks - we see deer everytime we go for a walk in Abercrombie.

In this photo, a bunch of deer hiked up and over Pyramid mountain trying to get away from some snowmobilers. If we don't have a warm spell soon, it's possible that we will lose up to 50 percent of the deer living on Kodiak this winter. I have already seen a few winter killed deer - usually we don't see winter killed deer until late February.

The sad fact of the matter is that Kodiak is overpopulated with deer. Too many warm winters, and the regulation against hunting does (only legal to hunt bucks near the city of Kodiak) have created a population explosion. The numbers of deer have stressed the habitat, and the conditions this winter have created a 'malthusian correction'. Nature's way of getting the deer population back in balance with the food supply. (PGS)