Scrounging for food | Heavy snow cover has made it difficult for deer to find food, and weak animals attract predators
As the worst of winter blankets Saskatchewan, wildlife officials are concerned about some animal populations.
Deer are a particular concern, with a large snow pack and extremely cold temperatures placing undue stress on the animals.
It’s too early to predict a mortality rate, but a larger than normal winterkill is likely if the situation doesn’t change, said Mike Gollop, a fur and problem wildlife specialist with Sask-atchewan’s environment ministry.
“We’re starting to get calls in about deer in tough shape and it’s a pretty wide area that we’re getting the calls. I think you could probably say that we’re going to see a fairly significant mortality, but it could break. Temperature is a huge factor in all of this,” he said.
Read Also
August rain welcome, but offered limited relief
Increased precipitation in August aids farmers prior to harvest in southern prairies of Canada.
“It’s just like livestock. You know how much hay you have to throw to cattle when it gets cold, but it’s half that when it warms up a bit. It’s the same with these guys.”
Darrell Crabbe of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation agreed, saying deer become easy targets for predators under these conditions.
“Where you’ll find large herds of deer yarded up, there’s going to be all kinds of coyotes right with them and they’re going to be cleaning them up as they start to weaken,” Crabbe said.
“That’s the problem. As you get through to spring, the coyotes will have their pups and there may not be a lot of game left over.”
Gollop wasn’t aware of Saskatchewan livestock producers encountering an unusual number of problem coyotes this winter, although those concerns increase once calving begins.
There is a concern about the number of cases of canine distemper identified in coyotes in the Saskatoon area.
Gollop said the weakened animals are encroaching on urban areas as they scrounge for food, and the contagious virus can spread to unvaccinated dogs.
He said the next few weeks are crucial for wildlife.
“It becomes a life and death situation for them. They take all kinds of risks to come and get food. They’ll come and live in people’s yards with all that entails,” said Gollop.
“People want solutions to those problems and I don’t blame them, but when it gets to that point, there really is no ready solution. You could kill all the animals, but short of that you’re not likely to get them to leave because they’ve got nothing to go to.”
