I see a lot of does without fawns; did the coyotes kill them?

Not all antlerless deer will have a fawn or fawns when you observe them in the hunting season. Most of the females 2.5 yrs and older will have fawns, but very few yearling females will have fawns (typically less than 15% will breed as fawns: puberty is related to their weight). Again, regardless of predators, only about half of the antlerless deer seen can even have fawns.

However, predators do take fawns. Radio collar studies in the Northeast found that predators (black bears, coyotes, and bobcats combined) take about 20-40% of the fawns each year. When predator levels dropped, other mortality (vehicle collisions, natural mortality, etc) tended to make up for it. Regardless of high or low predator levels, about 40-50% of the fawns will not survive each year. In these studies, even though almost half the fawns died, the deer populations were still growing. Why? Because the survival of reproductive females is very high (typically over 90%, even with regulated hunting), and these females continue to produce fawns year after year. Also, the fact that fawns and yearlings show up in the harvest indicates that fawns are surviving and reaching older ages.

Author: michael mcstay

Michael McStay serves as the Senior Editor and CEO of NockedUp, a platform dedicated to outdoor enthusiasts in Massachusetts. An avid fisherman, hunter, and hiker, he has a deep passion for the outdoors and values the importance of sharing knowledge and information related to Massachusetts' natural environment. If you have any thrilling outdoor news to share, or if you would like to provide feedback or suggest story ideas, we encourage you to contact us via text at 339-309-8721 (Join NockedUp Massachusetts Outdoors—it's free and simple! Stay in the loop and never miss another post or update).