Game and Furbearer Program Summary Report – 2025
Game and Furbearer Program Summary Report – 2025
Deer Biological Data Collection
Deer Ecology Across an Urban-Rural Gradient
DESCRIPTION: The NCWRC annually collects and monitors deer data from four primary sources: 1) mandatory big game har- vest reporting system, 2) biological harvest data collected by staff and cooperators, 3) hunter harvest survey, and 4) deer hunter wildlife observation survey. Biological data collected includes age, sex, weight, antler measurements, and fetal/reproductive information. The NCWRC relies on these databases to provide technical guidance to landowners, assess the current condition of the herd, and evaluate proposed deer rules relative to statewide biological objectives. KEY RESULTS: • A near-record harvest of 188,800 deer was reported for the 2024-2025 deer season, with 98,466 antlered bucks, 8,191 antler- less males, and 82,143 does harvested. This was the 2nd highest harvest since 1976, when harvest reporting became mandatory. • Estimated ages were collected from 5,532 males and 3,995 females; a plurality of deer (34%) sampled from the harvest were 2.5 years old.
DESCRIPTION: The NCWRC is collaborating with North Carolina State University to answer questions about deer landscape use, productivity, mortality, density, and public opinions of deer across an urban to rural gradient. The project collected data via three components: deer capture and tracking, public opinion surveys, and deer fecal surveys. The project will be completed by June 2026. KEY RESULTS: • From 2022 through 2024, we captured 247 non-neonate (adults, yearlings, and fawns from the previous summer) deer and 112 neonate (0-16 weeks old) deer in Durham and Orange counties. • The leading cause of adult deer mortality was vehicle-collisions (36 deer), with legal hunter harvest close behind at 35 deer. • As urbanization increased, survival decreased for neonate deer and fawns. In more urban areas, neonate mortality was largely due to predation, while vehicle-collisions were largely responsible for fawn mortalities. • Regardless of their location on the urbanization gradient, deer selected areas with lower impervious surfaces (i.e. paved or developed areas). • Fecal DNA analysis estimated the average deer density in Durham County to be 12 deer/mi2, with higher densities in the rural portions of the study area. • Small property size and public safety-related variables with hunting were the largest perceived barriers to hunting access.
HOW IS THIS INFORMATION USED FOR REG- ULATIONS AND MANAGEMENT: This informa- tion is used to evaluate the status of deer populations in relation to habitat, reproductive output, and current hunting season frameworks. It was recently used in developing season changes for the western zone deer season.
Estimated age composition of the sampled harvest of white-tailed deer during 2024-25 season.
APRIL BOGGS POPE/NCWRC
Jared Lamb, an NC State Masters student, watches over a doe as she recovers from a capture.
HOW IS THIS INFORMATION USED FOR REGULATIONS AND MANAGEMENT: Information from this project will be used to help the NCWRC manage deer in urban and rural areas. Results will inform management decisions regarding harvest, human-deer interactions, and habitat and landscape management. To see updates from the Urban Deer Ecology team, please visit facebook. com/NCurbandeerstudy.
Huntable lands probability map for Durham County and areas into adjacent counties. This map used road density, housing density, and parcel size to estimate probability a parcel was hunted.
COLLEEN OLFENBUTTEL/NCWRC
NCWRC District Wildlife Biologist John Henry Harrelson and Conservation Tech- nican II Thad Watkins age a buck at the John E. Pechmann check station in No- vember 2024.
Estimated peak conception dates updated with reproductive data collected during the 2024-25 season. The precision of the estimated peak conception date for any given county can be influenced by the number of samples collected, with less confidence in estimates that are based on few samples. Little variation exists in peak breeding activity from one year to the next within a given area as doe estrus cycles are triggered by shortening day length during the fall, rather than weather events, including moon phase.
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