The Division of Wildlife Resources has shared some of the results of a study of deer and elk in the Book Cliffs. “DWR biologists, in partnership with researchers from Brigham Young University, captured and collared 30 pregnant does and 30 pregnant elk in March,” shares the DWR. “They implanted trackers to learn when the animals gave birth, and then they later placed tracking collars on the baby deer fawns and elk calves. When one of the collars emits a mortality signal — indicating an animal has died — the biologists can quickly find the animal and determine a cause of death.” Biologists wanted to discover what factors are limiting population growth. Of the 27 newly born deer fawns tracked in the Book Cliffs, 16 died and the drought was determined to be the main cause. Interestingly enough, of the 30 newly born elk calves tracked in the Book Cliffs, only five died and the main cause of death was being killed by a predator.
