Deer Herd Reduction Continues....

Rondeau Provincial Park is home to lots of deer, as many readers will know. The number increases in the late fall, as crops outside the park are harvested.

But in the absence of the usual predators, the number of deer in the park continues to climb. While some people relish the idea of seeing many deer with ease during a visit to the park, the health of the forest and many other species that rely on a healthy forest suffers to greater or lesser degrees.
I wrote a fairly extensive blog several years ago providing lots of background on this event and the biological rationale for it. If you want to read it, check it out here.

Therefore a regular cull of the deer is undertaken, and as some readers will be aware, this has been happening for a few days now. In talking with some park staff recently, the cull is going well, but will continue for a short period. In fact on November 21, 29 and 30, the cull will take place during the first part of the day, with the park being closed during that time. It will re-open by around 12:30 p.m. On December 7, which is the final day of the cull, the park will be closed the entire day. On days not listed here, the park is open as usual.

The hunters will be shooting from a blind, well camouflaged, as the following photo shows.

Hopefully an adequate number of deer will be removed so the remaining deer will have a healthy winter, and with healthy young born next year!