A number of recent calls to the Green River Police Department have centered around the discovery of dead deer on residential properties and in city streets.
While some may believe the number of dying deer is unusual, according to Mark Zornes of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, this is not out of the ordinary.
Wildlife in town, deer included die throughout the year, but death tolls do rise in the winter expectably.
In Green River, reasons of death can range from the typical starvation, to illness and human interaction-related injuries, such as getting hit by a car.
The deer deaths in the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Green River Region have seen this season have been a mixture of all three, not one more than any other.
“Deer in urban environments are difficult to manage,” Zornes said. “Deer deaths are not an uncommon event in this town.”
This year is not any different from other years of heavy snowfall. Zornes said if the snowfall continues as it has been the past few days, the deer’s food supply, shrubbery, will continue to diminish.
Deer that roam near the edges of town will have an easier time finding shrubs to forage. Deer that stay in town will find foraging more difficult with the additional compacted snow accumulating.
Even so, Zornes urges residents not to feed the deer.
Feeding deer may fill their stomachs, but the deer will still die because the food will go undigested due to their specialized digestive system.
The less-than-favorable winter road conditions, due to recent snow storms have had, their toll on the deer as well.
Slippery roads make it more difficult to stop in time to avoid a deer darting into the street. Remember to be attentive and drive accordingly.
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