96 John B. Calhoun 



The restricted locations where food was provided and the striking ag- 

 gregations of deer in their vicinity reaching 350 per square mile strikingly 

 resemble my experimental populations of rats from which developed the 

 concept of the behavioral sink. Even though many deer died in the yards, 

 the question stands: "Is this really an instance of a behavioral sink?" 

 Gaining insight into this question has proved to be a difficult detective 

 job. Shiras (1921), Sanders (1939), Swift (1948), Rabat et al. (1953), 

 Schorger (1953), and Dahlberg and Guettinger (1956) proved to be 

 particularly helpful. 



Before the days of lumbering, deer were so scarce in the primeval forests 

 of Northern Wisconsin as to contribute very little to the diet of Indians. 

 Between 1860 and 1880 a marked increase in deer followed lumbering 

 operations with the consequent development of openings and second growth 

 which provided abundant food. Although the deer did not reach the den- 

 sities of 1935 to 1953, they supported a major industry as a commercial 

 source of meat. There is some mention during this era of herds up to 200 

 being seen, of aggregations about salt licks, and about concentrations in 

 white cedar swamps during heavy snows. However, one gets the impression 

 from Schorger's citations that it was more customary for deer to be scat- 

 tered. After heavy snows the commercial hunters trailed the deer until 

 they found them exhausted and trapped by the deep snow. Schorger 

 (1953, p. 210) writes, "It is stated by Harvey Braein that about Christmas, 

 1857, a crust about one-half inch in thickness formed on the deep snow in 

 Buffalo County, and that nearly every deer perished. Following the spring, 

 their bodies were found in nearly every coulee." Unfortunately, this is the 

 sort of data one has to rely on. Even so, it suggests a typical pattern of 

 scattering. 



As early as 1920 when the Northern Wisconsin deer herd was well on 

 its way to recovery after its prior decimation by forest fire and unrestricted 

 hunting, private hunting clubs and the operators of tourist camps had be- 

 gun the practice of feeding deer during the winter months. After 1935 

 Civilian Conservation Corps camps and the Wisconsin Conservation De- 

 partment greatly increased this artificial feeding. However, the intensive 

 artificial feeding characterizes only the 1943-1953 period. Swift (1948) 

 states that yarding had not conmienced very extensively until after 1941 

 even though astonishingly high populations existed in many locations. It is 

 difficult to escape the conclusion that the accentuation of yarding was a 

 direct outgrowth of the artificial feeding. 



Daily movements rarely exceeded one-quarter mile from the feeding 

 stations. Thus, available food outside the yards remained unutilized. Even 

 with the advent of warm weather deer exhibited considerable reluctance 

 in leaving the yard despite increasing new growth outside it. Even cessa- 



