Table 11. - Recovery data, 1948-1951, from 335 tagged deer released in Illinois since about 1947. 
All recoveries were from releases made in southern Illinois. 
- | Release | Recover Miles From 
Tag No. Sex D y Recovery to Cause of Death 
Date ate Release Site 
28 ? Unknown 1-15-48 ? ? 
13 M 2-19-48 2- 2-49 98 Shot 
633,634 M 2-19-49 4-10-49 6 Fence 
577,578 F 2- 4-49 4-18-49 8 Shot 
510 F 2-15-48 5-15-49 28 Car 
599 600 M 2- 7-49 9-29-49 6 ? 
502 F 1-31-48 11-19-49 Y% Shot 
303 M 2-14-49 5-18-50 8 Motorcycle 
625,626 M 2-15-49 11-11-50 4 ? 
(eis) M 2-14-51 2-18-51 25 Hurt in 
| transit 
the years of this study. During April, in 1950 and 
1951, a moderate shifting outward was noted in 
those herds that wintered in close proximity to 
the Rock River. Small groups or single deer 
appeared in wooded creek bottoms and in large 
upland woodlots as much as 6 or 7 miles from the 
river, in places where none had been present in 
winter. The animals remained in these outlying 
habitats throughout the remainder of the spring 
and summer. In late fall, the spring movement 
was teversed when the adult deer and their off- 
spting moved back to winter ranges along the 
tiver. This population build-up along the river 
in fall resulted in herds ranging in size up to more 
than 100 individuals. Herds of 15 to 35 were 
common. 
Some information on the movements of deer 
following their release on unfamiliar range was 
obtained. Of 335 tagged deer which have been 
released over the state since about 1947, recovery 
data have been obtained on only 10, table 11. All 
of these recoveries were from releases made in 
southern Illinois counties. Three of these 10 deer 
had been shot. 
It will be noted that the straight line distance 
from the release site to the point where the tag 
was recovered varied from 1.5 to 98 miles; the 
average was 20.5 miles. The buck that migrated 
98 miles had been released almost a year before 
the date of tag recovery. Length of time from 
release of deer to recovery of tag seemed to have 
little bearing on the distance traveled by the deer. 
Four tagged deer recovered more than a year after 
their releases averaged only 10.5 miles; the max- 
imum for these deer was 28 miles and the minimum 
1.5 miles. 
Table 12. - Fatality records for deer in Illinois, 1948-1951. 
| Fatalities in 
| Fatalities in 
: Illinois, Exclusive 
Gause Rock River Range, of Rock River Range, 
Fatality January, 1948-May, 1951 September, 1948-March, 1951 
Number Per Cent Number | Per Cent 
Highway accidents 135 50.2 43 56. 
Poaching 45 16.7 3 3.95 
Dogs 19 Yor 4 5.3 
Fence entanglements 13 4.8 3 3295 
Farming operations 12 4.5 0 0.0 
Drowning 7 2.6 2 2.6 
Live trapping 5 1.9 5 6.6 
Trains 22 0.7 8 10.5 
Buck fights 2 0.7 0 0.0 
Malnutrition 22 0.7 1 1.3 
Unknown 27 10.1 7 S52 
Total | 269 100.0 76 oa 100.0 
16 
