Winter kill?

[bullwinkle]

Now that winter is breaking, is anyone finding dead deer?  Thus far we have not - the deer in our area seem to look in good shape - another 4-6 weeks and they should home free for another year

[Goose]

No I have not found any dead deer, I was out in the woods today and the deer look like they are doing fine. On the way home their were alot of deer out in the fields.

[bigwisconsinbucks]

I haven't found any winter kill of deer as of yet either. So far I have only found 1 dead turkey. The deer seem to be doing fine here also. Tonight I saw a 2009 record 6 deer on land that I am able to hunt. They all appeared to be does so I'm hoping that they all produce some fawns.

[DoeEyed]

I found one today. Looks like it's been there for a bit. not much left to it. It was a nubby.[&o]

[mtnman]

I have found winter kill through out the year...going to be another bad year this season I fear. Does I have seen seem to be preggers....all we can hope for is a good fawn drop that does not coincide with the bears coming out of their dens like the last two springs.

[gunther89]

http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/galle ... inter-kill

Thank god Wisconsin isn't having a winter like North Dakota is.  The website shows a truck and a trailer full of dead deer.  The deer died of starvation due to the amount of snow and cold temps that have been hammering North Dakota.  Hunting I have a feeling will be down in that part of the state for awhile.

[buckhunter21]

Wow, that's a shame!
 
I especially don't like the last picture in the story where the guy is standing next to the trailer smiling.  Really, smiling?  Wow.  That's something I'd be proud of.

[DoeEyed]

I've found 3 this year. The majority that I find seem to be either nubbins or small 1 1/2 year old bucks. Does anyone know why this might be? Do the does chase them away from their food? Or could it have something to do with dispersal?

[wack]

I would guess that the young ones found were not born in time to put enough weight and fat on for the winter. The 1.5 year old bucks probably (like horny teenagers) did a lot of chasing doe and got too preoccupied with rut to put on enough fat and weight to make it through the winter.

 I found  a spot in a ditch where 4 deer are laying dead that this recent thaw has reveled. This is a popular deer crossing that I think with the deep ditch, a lot of snow, became a deer trap. I think the deer were used to crossing there but when the hard snow began to melt, the deer sunk in and got trapped. From what I could see on 2 of the deer, the hair on the legs were rubbed raw which might have been from the layer of ice between the snow and the water running under the snow bank.

 On a lighter note, I saw something this weekend that I wish I would have been able to capture on film. 2 Sandhill cranes standing in the middle of an open field with a coyote stalking them. I watched as the coyote closed the distance and made a run at the smaller of the 2. The crane simply jumped into the air as the coyote made it's lunge and then it was off to the races! Both cranes chased the coyote with heads down, necks out parallel to the ground, half running, half flying and the coyote running flat out with his tail between his legs! The chase went about 100 yards where the biggest crane caught up to the coyote, they tumbled and the coyote rolled free, changed dirrections and ran off. He ran about anouther 100 yards at top speed, then turned to look back, as he slowed to a trot and disapeared out of sight.

 It was really cool! When the big crane caught up to the coyote, I saw a few feathers fly, and I thought it would be cool to go over and look at the feathers on the ground. With out thinking I start walking that way, keeping my eye on the two cranes that were still there, thinking they'd just move on. When I got to about 40 yards, these two cranes start squaking and screaming, and posturing up to chase me! Ever have a moment in the wild where it dawns on you that what you are doing is really stupid and dangerous? LOL When the big bird took a few running steps in my dirrection, I had my moment. Man are they fast and LOUD! He covered 20 yards and jumped about 12 ft straight up displaying his wings and claws like some Karate Kid nightmare! I opened up my jacket like big wings and slowly backed away....5 lbs of mud on each boot, fast wasn't an option. 20 yards away, the noise is incredable! He stood his ground, looked at me and believe through eye contact we came to an agreement. I backed away from his mate, he backed away towards his mate, all was good. By the time I backed off 200 yards, they were dancing! Mating dance, high five, victory dance, what ever it was, it was pretty cool.  

[Everyday Hunter]

I've found two, but I have doubts that either one was winter kill.

The first was the skull of a buck that had shed his antlers, accompanied by assorted bones. I don't know for sure, but I think it was a deer that had been shot, home butchered, and the boned dumped. Based on the cold winter and deer snow we've had, I think it had decomposed too much to be winter kill.
 
I also found a small buck that I think had been hit by a car. I was shed hunting when I found it. He was about 50-70 yards from a well-traveled highway, and one antler had been broken off. The other antler had a Y and a broken brow tine. I would have brought his skull home, but he was not yet decomposed enough.

Yesterday while shed hunting I didn't find any sheds, but I found the remains of a dead possum and a dead raccoon. Nice skull for my collection on the 'coon.

Steve