Deer are on the move

    Motorists have noticed a larger number of deer moving about in the past month than over the summer. Jason Gritsch, who works for the DNR office in Sigourney and who is also a deer hunter, remarked that the increase in deer movement is not an illusion. He said October is the start of the breeding season, which explains the greater activity. 

    ?You see bucks moving more, searching for does. The does are being pushed around by bucks. The females are moving too, but they?re going to feeding areas. Lots of does are not necessarily in heat and are not ready to breed.?

    Gritsch said that usually, mature bucks move at night because they feel safer. He said that during the breeding season they move around in the mornings and the middle of the day.

    The times of the day when deer are most likely to be on the run is from about 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then again between 3 p.m. and dark, he said. Gritsch explained that deer move around in the early morning because that?s when they?re looking for food. Then they find a place to lie down for the afternoon, until night comes, when they?re up and moving again.

    Gritsch commented that most deer do not travel long distances. He said most of them live their lives within a 1 to 2 square mile area. Some deer may travel as many as three or four miles during the mating season, he added. 

    All animals need a water source to survive, and deer are not an exception. Gritsch said creek bottoms are natural corridors for deer to travel on. He said creeks and heavily wooded areas are places deer congregate.

    After the mating season has ended, deer are mostly interested in finding food and shelter, which they do in wooded areas. Gritsch said the mating season wears them down, and the bucks lose a great deal of body fat. He said that if deer are seen crossing the road at this time, it is because they are feeding or looking for a bedding spot.

    Gritsch said that there are not as many deer in Iowa compared to other nearby states because of the lack of timberland. He said that because Iowa?s countryside is mostly crops, it means less habitat for deer to live in. In states farther east, where there is more timber, there are more deer.

    ?Pennsylvania is overrun by deer,? said Gritsch.

    Gritsch said deer like wooded areas because they feel sheltered from predators and from Mother Nature. In the summer months, deer leave the woods to escape mosquitoes and biting flies.

For more, see our Oct. 28 print edition.