Where Northwoods Wilderness Is Lost, Wolves Kill More Fawns

 

Any hunter worth their salt knows habitat destruction is bad for deer for a variety of reasons. These include loss of quality food sources, disruption of migratory corridors, and overcrowding on nearby remaining habitat. But a collaborative research effort involving the University of Minnesota, Northern Michigan University, the University of Manitoba, Voyageurs National Park, and the Voyageurs Wolf Project has recently published new evidence that human alterations to forested ecosystems might also tip the scales in favor of one of a whitetail’s biggest predators.

The study, published in the October issue of research journal Ecological Applications, found that wolves prey on more whitetail fawns in areas where humans have impacted historically forested landscapes. Areas with clear-cuts, recently constructed roads and trails, urban sprawl, new human infrastructure, and other anthropogenic changes actually seem to create hotbeds for deer. And in the Upper Midwest where wolf populations are strong, wherever deer go, their canine predators aren’t far behind...MORE