Efforts under way to feed snow-weary deer

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is urging people not to feed deer that they think might be hungry or starving because of large amounts of snow that forces them to forage lower into valleys for food.

"If they're in your back yard, it's because you have the right kind of browse," said Anis Aoude, big game coordinator for the Utah DWR.

Instead, DWR officials, with help from volunteers who tend to be hunters, want to handle helping keep deer properly fed this winter, citing the need to make sure they're getting the right kind of food.

In pockets of Cache, Weber, Morgan and Summit counties where food, or browse, is more scarce because of harsh winter conditions, efforts are underway to feed special pellets to deer in those areas. Criteria for the DWR to step in usually means three things: the snow is deep enough to cover food sources; it's cold enough that deer are losing body weight; and conditions are bad enough that adults die off at a rate beyond what's expected in winter.

"This is basically a normal winter," Aoude said.

It's estimated that statewide there are about 325,000 deer. Every winter, however, the state normally loses about 20 percent of its adult population of deer and about 40 percent of the fawns.

"It's a stressful time of year for deer," Aoude said. "They're hanging on basically, just waiting for spring. That's what deer do — that's the way the Lord made them."

Although deer can digest alfalfa and grass that people put out for them, it's not the best source of food, Aoude added. He said it's best to let them feed on what is already growing in the area and allow them to move on.

Another difficulty associated with deer in winter that most people don't think about is the impact loose pets have on deer. A free roaming dog can stress out a deer, forcing it to run and burn the fat it needs to survive through the winter. Aoude said that dogs are to blame for killing more deer in an urban area than any other cause.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com