Deer are wrangled and counted

Perry County Times By Perry County Times The Patriot-News
on April 14, 2005 at 3:35 PM, updated December 27, 2010 at 3:36 PM

By Liz Dudley/Staff Writer

Christine Hoskinson wrestles deer for a living. She worries more about the deer getting hurt than herself.

Hoskinson is a biology aide with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and wrestling deer is just one of the things she does as part of an anterless deer study being conducted in Toboyne Twp.

On April 8, commission officials and state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources officials held a briefing, demonstrations and a tour of areas of the study.

This is the newest of several deer assessments, and is being done on state game lands in Wildlife Management Units 2G in the northern forest and 4B in the central ridge and valley region of Tuscarora State Forest.

Current information on survival rates and herd vulnerability of the female white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania is sketchy, so biologists wanted more hard data. The information will be used to better manage the state deer program.

Walter “Deet” James, biologist aide project supervisor, and aides Hoskinson, Christina Hope and Kodi Hockenberry use a hands-on approach to learn what is happening to the state’s deer herd.

In winter and early spring, they capture deer using drop nets, rocket nets and box traps. Female deer then are collared with radio tracking devices to monitor the movements and survival of individual females.

During hunting seasons, aerial surveys will determine how many hunters are in the field and where they are hunting. Then, using the radio collars, biologists will be able to understand the deer’s response to the pressure of the hunt.

Hoskinson, Hope and Hockenberry are the people who bait the net and trap areas with corn and then tag and collar the female deer.

The trapped deer are frantic, fighting to get away, so the trio has a bit of maneuvering, particularly with the ones caught in box traps because they are not anesthetized. The deer’s eyes are covered which usually, but not always, helps to calm them, but it’s the biologist aides who hug and tuck their legs under them so the tracking devices can be attached.

Rockets propel nets that drop over several deer at once. These animals are anesthetized while their collars are attached. A second drug is administered to speed their recovery.

Hoskinson said their main concern is keeping the animal from being injured. Just one deer was lost to injuries out of 100 trapped this year. She said biologists usually get the worst of the deal, but she maintains it’s worth it.

The collars are good for three years during which the officials hope to better understand:

• What percentage of female deer survive from one hunting season to the next.

• What factors influence survival of female deer.

• What is hunter density on public and private lands.

• How do female deer respond to hunter movements.

• What factors affect a female deer’s vulnerability to harvest.

Beginning next summer a forest restoration research project, led by Merlin Benner, a wildlife specialist with DCNR’s Bureau of Forestry, will begin. He’s hoping that other nature and wildlife organizations will become interested in what’s happening and will join forces with them.