By fall, she was back at Camp Ripley. Another, which was killed by a hunter last fall, traveled 33 miles to her summer range and a third was harvested 13 miles from Ripley. These exaggerated movements are common to deer in the northern tier of states, where weather extremes often force deer to wander to meet their nutritional and cover needs and to avoid predators. Researchers say the percentage of nomadic deer likely would have been higher were it not for mild winters in 1999 and 2000. Studies show the size of a deer's range narrows greatly with herds living in warmer climates.
Research indicates migratory behavior is a learned trait.
In fact, the fawns must be led to the summer range and back to the winter range. They have to go full circle to learn the route. Only 11 of the 62 deer tagged during the DelGiudice study are dead. Two were killed during Camp Ripley's archery season, five were killed outside the reservation by firearms hunters, two were hit by vehicles and one had to be euthanized by DNR employees after it became tangled in a barb-wire fence. Minnesota hunters might be surprised to learn that only one fell victim to predators, possibly a wolf.