CACHE COUNTY, Utah — The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources captured and collared around two dozen Mule deer Tuesday.
They were assisted by volunteers and staff from Brigham Young and Utah State Universities and a helicopter capture company.
Twelve does and ten fawns were captured. The fawns were quickly weighed and had a Global Positioning Satellite collar placed around their necks before being released at the spot where they were captured.
The does were flown to biologists at the Hardware Wildlife Management Area for a thorough health assessment before being released at the handling area. Most of the does were wearing GPS collars that were placed on them from one year to several years ago. Does that didn’t have a collar received one.
The assessment the does received included weighing and measuring the animals, determining their age, checking their overall health, and collecting blood and other samples for disease testing.
Biologists say placing collars on deer, and then following the animals over time, provides them with valuable information, including how long deer in Utah live, the type of habitat they use during different times of the year and their migration patterns.
This information helps biologists determine overall winter survival rates and where to implement habitat projects to improve winter and summer feeding ranges for big game.
