Lots of deer this year, but lush vegetation keeps them hidden
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

What you see isn't always what you get in life or in nature.

That truism has never been more evident than when it comes to spotting this year's deer population in Wharton and surrounding counties. While there are more and bigger deer out there, people are seeing fewer and fewer of them leading up to this year's South Texas hunting season, which runs Nov. 3 to Jan. 20.

And like a lot of inconveniences this year, you can blame it on the wet weather.

"The rainfall this year has created some great conditions for the deer herd," Texas Parks and Wildlife Biologist David Forrester said. Forrester is the District 7 leader, which includes Wharton County.

"With the rain, the fawn survival has been very good. They've been able to find easy forage and there has been a lot more cover to avoid predators. And because of the better feeding, the number of deer added to the herd is above average."

A lot of deer fanatics, both hunters and simple nature lovers, will put out deer feeders this time of year to attract the herd. That isn't going to work as well as in recent years either.

"The acorn crop is going to be phenomenal this year," Forrester said. "And deer are going to go for acorns and natural forage before they go to feeders."

Forrester explained that the continual rains have also kept Texas green much longer than expected.

"Vegetation has gotten out of control," he said. "It's made it an interesting year for wildlife and range management. It's been great for weeds, which is a staple of the deer diet. In addition to a better deer population this fall, the deer are going to go into winter in much better shape which is going to have a positive impact on the herd for years to come."

All of those factors are going to combine for a deer season that might actually see the harvest numbers go down despite the increase in population.

"You aren't going to just be able to stake out a feeder and have deer come to you," Forrester said. "At least not the older deer. They are going to be harder to find. Hunters are going to have to get out of their stands and find the trails and hunt the old-fashioned way by stalking them. But that also means from a buck standpoint that things are going to be very good next year."

Because of the agricultural development of Wharton County, it has less deer than many of its adjacent counties. Forrester said a lot of the deer hunting done in the county is by local residents, although there are pockets with decent deer populations.

"The main ones are going to be along the natural drainage flows going into the Colorado and San Bernard Rivers," Forrester said. "In some counties, you have a deer population exceeding a deer per acre and this year in Wharton County you will find about one deer for every six to seven acres. But in the past that number has been one for every 15 to 20 acres, so there has been a significant increase."

While the hunters might be disappointed with seeing fewer deer, the chances of a deer-vehicle collision is also down.

"It is another function of the increased vegetation," Forrester said. "Deer aren't having to travel as much for food so they don't need to go close to roadways. In years like this, the number of roadkills goes down. I do a lot of driving between East Bernard to LaGrange and last year I saw a lot of deer and this year I'm not seeing nearly as many."