Predator Control in Deer Management: South Texas

Research on predator control in deer management in South Texas is reviewed. Research falls into 2 categories: (1) studies of the scat of predators or cause of death attributed to recently-dead deer carcasses, and (2) predator (all coyote) removal studies. Mountain lions (Felis concolor) and bobcats (F. rufus) do not appear to be important predators in most South Texas deer populations. Coyotes (Canis latrans) have had an impact on fawn survival in some studies conducted in the 1970's. The most likely-to-beeffective predator control practice in deer management is intensive removal of coyotes before and during the fawning period. This paper is a review of research on predator control in deer management in South Texas. Predators have been a subject of debate in wildlife management for years. Originally, South Texas contained the following predators that normally would kill and eat white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus): jaguar (Panthera onca), mountain lion, wolf (Canis lupus), coyote, and bobcat. Perhaps black bears (Ursus americanus) should be added as an occasional predator of deer. Additionally, humans have preyed on deer for the past 12,000 years or so, but will not be considered herein. Of course, the jaguar, wolf, and bear are gone, and research attention has concentrated on the coyote, with only a few studies of mountain lions and bobcats. Research on deer predators in South Texas has taken 2 approaches: (1) investigation of scat of the predator or recovery of recently dead carcasses of deer (usually with the aid of radio telemetry) where cause of mortality is discerned, and (2) experimental removal of predators with subsequent assessment of the response of deer populations. I will give a general review of some of the studies under (1) above by species, and then address the “experimental removal” studies, all of which involved coyotes, in somewhat more detail.