Adult Doe Mule Deer Survival
Southwest Study Area

Fish and Game collared 114 adult doe mule deer in the Southwest region of Idaho, including the McCall sub-region. In the first year of the study survival of those deer has been very high. The predominantly green chart here shows overall survival among the collared deer, the other chart shows how the few deer that did not survive were killed. "Unknown predation" means that biologists are certain an animal was taken by a predator, but there is not enough conclusive evidence to determine what that predator was.

When healthy predator populations exist, mortalities due to predation normally make up the majority of deaths. Wildlife managers are more concerned with the rate of survival than the percentage of animals killed by predators. Adult doe survival over 80% is generally considered normal and sustainable.