DEER MANAGEMENT 



Deer management in Ontario aims at providing outdoor 

 recreation through hunting and viewing deer. This is not an 

 easy task in Ontario where deer are on the northern edge 

 of their range and severe winters frequently take a heavy 

 toll. The influence of winter was particularly evident during 

 the year 1970-1. 



THE HUNT 



The number of hunters declined from about 92,000 in 1969 

 to about 83,000 in 1970. This may have been due largely to 

 economic conditions, but the relatively poor hunter success 

 of the previous two years (due to unfavourable weather dur- 

 ing the hunting seasons) probably discouraged many 

 hunters. The weather in 1970 was much better with none of 

 the heavy rain or snow which discouraged hunters in the 

 preceding two years. It was mainly warm and overcast, and 

 deer were still widely spread over their summer range. 

 There was no snow to show deer tracks, but hunter success 

 should have increased in response to more favourable hunt- 

 ing conditions. As it was, the influence of the previous winter 

 intervened. 



The winter of 1969-70 was one in which snow lay deep 

 on the ground over long periods. Although there was no 

 massive mortality, it seems certain that some losses occur- 

 red, probably enough to affect hunter success. The indica- 

 tions were in the exceptionally low percentages of fawns in 

 the 1970 deer kill. It has been shown under experimental 

 conditions that does with inferior winter diets lose many of 

 their fawns during the spring. This appears to be what 

 happened in 1970. The shortage of fawns was particularly 

 noticeable in contrast with 1969 when the percentages of 

 fawns were unusually high. The good crop of fawns that 

 year was confirmed by the 1970 statistics in which large 

 numbers of yearlings were recorded. 



An exception to these general observations appeared in 

 Parry Sound Forest District where fawns comprised nearly 

 one-third of the deer examined during hunter checks in 

 1970. 



The combined effects of fewer deer and fewer hunters 

 produced an over-all hunter success of about 20 per cent 

 which was close to the average for the previous ten years. 

 Although hunter success fluctuates from year to year, it has 

 for ten years remained within quite narrow limits. There are 

 greater variations between districts. Thus, to compare the 

 1970 hunting season with the previous one, it is necessary to 

 examine each forest district individually. 



In Kemptville District, hunter success increased from 17% 

 in 1969 to 19% in 1970. Success in Tweed District remained 

 about 20% with somewhat poorer success in North Hastings 

 County. Hunter success in Lindsay District remained just 

 under the 20% level, but there was considerable variation 

 within the district; in Haliburton County, very good hunting 

 was reported, but success was considerably less in North 

 Peterborough County. 



In Lake Huron District, hunter success increased from 

 14% in 1969 to 17% in 1970. Parry Sound reported about 

 18%, similar to 1969. In Lake Simcoe District, some town- 

 ships showed success as high as 25%, but the over-all suc- 

 cess remained around 20%, the same as last year. Farther 

 north, hunters success in Pembroke District increased from 

 12% in 1969 to 15% in 1970, while North Bay had the usual 

 8% success. 



Reasonably good hunting was found on Sudbury main- 

 land, compared with some recent years; the over-all hunter 

 success was still only about 10%, but among organized 

 groups it rose to 15%, and organized non-resident hunters 

 reported 36%. On Manitoulin Island, hunter success was 

 similar to the previous year — 22% in 1969 and 23% in 

 1970. In Sault Ste. Marie District, hunter success appeared 

 about the same with a little better success in the Blind River 

 area than in the rest of the district. 



In contrast, hunting in northwestern Ontario continued 

 to be excellent. Recent mild winters permitted the continued 

 recovery of the herd following the severe winter of 1965. 

 Kenora reported a hunter success of 42%, and Fort Frances 

 was even higher at 44%. Farther east in Thunder Bay Dis- 

 trict, severe winters are more frequent, and the effect on the 

 hunter success was evident as it continued to drop from 18% 

 in 1969 to 16% in 1970. 



White-tailed deer, bogged down in deep snow, Matawat- 

 chan Townsiiip, Renfrew County, February, 1971 . Photo by 

 W. F. Cheshire. 



A mailed survey of deer hunters has been initiated to pro- 

 vide more reliable and detailed information on hunter 

 activities and success than the returns from checking sta- 

 tions and field checks quoted here. However, there are still 

 problems in interpreting the data. 



