In 2019, Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG) started a multi-year research project in north Idaho to better understand how different big game species influence each other and how wildlife management activities (like harvest levels) influence those interactions. White-tailed deer are the most abundant large prey species in north Idaho, and therefore, understanding their ecology is a key first step in the overall project. Deer were captured and collared in GMUs 1, 6, and 10A to help us better understand the survival, cause specific mortality (why animals die), and movements of white-tailed deer does, bucks and 8-month-old fawns. We’ll also use the does collared this winter to find, capture, and collar newborn fawns to monitor their survival and causes of mortality. This will be the largest study of white-tailed deer ever conducted in Idaho.
