Researchers to Study Deer in Urban Setting
Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley are conducting the state's first study of urban deer.
Professor Dale McCullough said the study will examine the increasing number of black-tailed deer and the potential for conflicts between deer and people.
Deer used to avoided people but today often live in residential yards.
Researchers plan to use net traps to capture up to 20 urban deer from the yards of cooperating residents. Those deer -- and another 20 captured from Wildcat Canyon Park -- will be fitted with collars or ear-tag transmitters.
"It seems likely that some deer reside in urban areas year-round," McCullough said. "But do others move back and forth across the urban-wild land interface? Do deer occupying wild lands most of the time move into urban areas to feed on green vegetation when the natural vegetation dries up in summer?"
Besides movement and feeding habits, the study will determine deer population growth and causes of death.