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By Jaryn Vecchio

Improving Numbers

Lack of snow in Sask. could be good for deer population

Dec 5, 2023 | 5:18 PM

There’s hope the little amount of snow across Saskatchewan will help increase the deer population.

Over the last two winters, certain areas have seen numbers drop by over 25 per cent.

Dale Barks, a wildlife ecologist and deer biologist with the Ministry of Environment, told paNOW many deer ended up dying because of previous snow amounts.

“It gets really tough for animals to A; find food and B; travel through the deep snow,” he said.

Barks explained deer play an important part in the ecosystem. Because of that, they want to see numbers increase.

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“A lot of people hunt them. They feed a lot of people through the winter, and (they’re) prey for predators… an important link in the food chain.”

More deer may make some people nervous. That’s mainly due to the animal being one of the main causes of car accidents on highways and rural roads.

However, Barks believes the lack of snow may help limit this issue.

“If there’s not much snow on the landscape then deer don’t have as much benefit to travel on roads and highways,” he said.

Poor conditions are the main reason why they choose to walk alongside roads.

This isn’t an issue that will go away as deer are still notorious for crossing roads. Barks noted they do this to try and find food.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

X: @princealbertnow