I live in North East Georgia. I dodge deer daily. a resivor was built a few years ago, and coyote are abundant. We have deer camps east, and west of us. A few years ago my wife, and I counted 198 deer on the Cove in one quick pass. We have been twice this weeken, and have not seen one. Something is wrong. Sept 2022

Ricky, I'm assuming that the deer herds in your area are stable; and you were contrasting north Georgia with hunting to Cades Cove which prohibits hunting? The state of Texas is just one of numerous examples to prove that something is wrong in Cades Cove. Texas is overrun with coyotes and has a surplus of whitetails. Each year, hunters harvest plenty of whitetails and the population is not in jeopardy, despite coyotes and periodic disease outbreaks. For being a non-hunted area, Cades Cove should be overrun with deer. Auburn University did a study and determined that when too many female deer are removed from a local deer population by hunting; then predators such as coyotes can have a negative impact upon fawn recruitment. This is known as the predator pit. To some extent, the loss of female deer in Cades Cove has thrown the surviving deer into a "predator pit" to a small degree. Of course, my accusations that caused this is due to NPS removal of deer which they continue to deny, despite the evidence of deer being removed in the past by NPS management. I haven't really gotten into the predator pit on this site due to space issues; nor the Dept of Interior implementing the rose petal antlerless harvest management programs. Hopefully, at a future date, time and space will permit me to make these legitimate biological accusations against the NPS that continues to scapegoat the loss of deer on predators; and not their actions.

Here is an intersting link and I highly recommend reading the conclusion of the downloaded PDF: Some Population Parameters Of The Cades Cove Deer Herd, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (seafwa.org)

We are currently in Wears Valley and visit the Cove everyday. It is our reason for coming here. Cades Cove is one of the most beautiful places in the US to us. We love to count the deer and have amazing pics of them over the years. When we began coming in 1993, we'd count 100's. Now, and in the past 10 years, we've seen no more than 5-10 each visit. Sad, as we enjoy it so much. We've heard the same from many others as well. I am glad I "finally" researched it to find out (why). Good read and explanations. Also have noticed that there aren't as many people as we were always used to. We have always gone at night. I'm thinking we should probably go in the morning now. Definitely won't stop us from coming. It is relaxing and beautiful as it has always been. Thank you for all your hard work. Scarlett and Paul 

Yes, deer are more active at night; and you will definitely see more deer early in the morning; of course, if a lone coyote is trotting around looking for field mice, this can cause deer to abandon open fields. Also, heat and humidity tend force deer into shaded wooded areas early if you are going in the summer months. A fall acorn crop can also limit your viewing opportunities. With all the vegetative understory now in the wooded areas, whitetails can usually get enough moisture from the vegetation while consuming acorns. If this is the case, they will not venture far and are less visible. Even so, bucks and does will still periodically socialize in open fields at night and early in the morning as the breeding season nears. There are other factors negatively impacting good viewing opportunities. Even so, there are still deer in the Cove; although I haven't conducted any recent incidental counts (late winter/early spring are the best times), my last count along with other folks who visit the Cove still estimate anyway from 90 to 140 deer - give or take. Down the line, I will show where the Dept of Interior has been implementing biological recommendations of 20 deer per square mile - a biological management advocated by some State Game Agencies and hunting organizations. In my opinion as well as other enthusiasts and researchers, this deer density (20 per square mile) can be too extreme in contrast to normal habitat carrying capacity. This type of density can be a survival pendulum for deer depending on weather (drought, etc.), predators, and periodic disease outbreaks. Overall, the removal of too many female deer adversely impacts proper social female deer clans, etc.

Social media is periodically posting videos of predators attacking cervids (deer, mule deer, etc.); and or deer defending against predators and domestic dogs in suburban America. As for the coyotes attacking deer fawns in the wild, the majority of these videos are where deer and other animals (raccoons, predators, etc.) feed within close proximity, primarily with supplemental feeders. Some folks define this as baiting. A good portion of the female deer will give birth to deer fawns near these supplemental feeding sites. This can even be with managed food plots. These fawns are more vulnerable to predation than in comparison to deer fawns that are dispersed in more vegetative cover. Simply when female deer are dispersed and moving to and fro native food sources, birthing and bedding sites are better concealed and dispersed - greatly reducing the chances for predators to locate them. Whereas fawns born near supplemental feeders are more likely to become easier prey. It is like putting fish in a barrel. So, when videos like these get posted, the full story of "predator and prey" is not portrayed correctly, and things get blown out of portion. Coyotes are undoubtedly a threat to fawn survival, but NOT to the extent we are seeing on social media. Advocates of the Cades Cove deer decline being attributed to predators will indirectly use the social media predator and prey scenarios to promote their propoganda. More on this interesting topic down the line.

Being that folks are resorting to social media on this topic, I will no longer post here unless there is a need for a reply. This is most likely my final post for this site. Here are solid documented facts. The Park is mandated to control excessive deer numbers and can do so at their discretion, without having to info the public every time they do. In 1981, 77 deer were killed to reduce the population; then in 1985, roughly 328 were taken out by the state game agency to restock WMAs. If they did it back then, they will do it again and they have, but they are denying it and putting the blame primarily on predators. One thing I have not even mentioned is that you do not see very many old matriarch females in comparison to the past; whereas old rutting bucks are still making it to 6.5 to 10.5 years old. Interesting that old beat-up bucks are surviving predators, but females are not. This is a biological contradiction. Doe are much more likely to evade predators than injured bucks. Makes no sense. Why? Most sharpshooting programs target females and even older ones. This is another reason for antler quality decline, being that the female can carry 50% to 65% of the genetics for antlers. Finally,

Although the NPS does not like to admit it, they have implemented aversive conditioning with flares and loud noises to keep deer away from the Loop Road. The old policy was anything within 50 yards of the Loop Road was hazed. Although they do not implement aversive conditioning on deer too often, it does not take much of a negative experience to teach deer to avoid certain areas, forcing them to be more night active.