Tag Archives: deer

Interesting and Tempting?

grizzlies and deer grazing

The sedge grass is about a meter (yard) tall and with the rising water the grizzly bear is likely standing in water up to its belly. Footing along a river bank is quite slippery and more so in water while the deer is one leap from solid footing. But even on dry ground we frequently see grizzlies and black tailed deer feeding side by side. The chance of a grizzly bear catching deer is so low it is not worth wasting the energy trying.

Deer In the Estuary

Grizzly Bears aren’t the only mammals that we encounter in the river estuary.  Blacktail Deer are also commonly sighted as they too like to feed on the protein rich Sedge Grass.

Friendly wildlife of Knight Inlet

 

The black tail deer are a common sight in the river estuary where we view grizzly bears. They come to the shore to graze on the sedge grass and it is not unusual to see the deer and grizzlies grazing in the same area. The open and flat nature of the river mouth give the deer an advantage so the bears do not attempt to start a chase they cannot win.

Blak tail deer

Blacktail deer swimming

It is always interesting that along the coast the blacktail deer population is exploding yet it is rare to observe them swimming between islands. The explosion is blamed on a lack of predators (cougars and wolves) and restrictive hunting regulations. On the islands where deer are present, they exist in high densities, around one per hectare, and they’re devouring native plants. Some smaller islands, which can reasonably support 200 or so deer, are now home to thousands. Young arbutus trees and native flowers, for example, are now rare, and birds that rely on the plants are also disappearing. As well, the fierce competition for food leaves the deer hungry and scrawny.