Can tracking a wounded deer run all the other deer off a property?
QUESTION: A friend was bowhunting on my property in southern Maryland this year, and he arrowed an 8-pointer with his recurve. We tracked it through a few coveted bedding areas and pretty much covered a good portion of my 150 acres of hunting land. Two weeks later, I’m still not seeing any deer at any of my stands on my property. I know we spread our scent all over the area, but how long do you think it will take for the deer that were drove off my property to come back and I can resume normal hunting? — B.W.
ANSWER: That’s a very difficult question to answer because there are so many variables. Obviously, the amount of disturbance, time spent and scent left in the area will influence the deer’s reaction. However, recent research suggests the situation may not be as bad as you might think.
The deer will leave the immediate area while you’re there, but satellite telemetry studies of collared deer indicate they’ll soon return to their normal home range and core areas, although they might seek thicker cover and move more at night. The extent to which that occurs is directly related to the degree of disturbance.
As your’s was an isolated, short-term incident, it seems less likely it would have a strong negative influence. I’ve killed deer on successive days from the same stand, although that’s certainly not common. Keep at it. They’ll be back.
— Recent Ask the Biologist Question:Do late-dropping antlers affect next year’s rack?
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