It is well documented that deer populations in urban areas tend to have higher biological carrying capacities than cultural carrying capacity, generally because deer have adapted well to the suburban residential landscape. However, it is also well documented that deer population growth in areas without natural predators can increase rapidly in a short period of time, resulting in long-term changes to habitat. When deer occur in high numbers in suburban areas they are more likely to cause unwelcome damage to landscaping, gardens and motor vehicles.
Similar trends are apparent for the number of complaints received from residents.
There are a number of management options available for urban deer population management. However, not all options can be applied to all situations, nor are they all appropriate in all situations. Therefore, each problem area must be assessed against the available options and choices made for the most appropriate options. Deer management is a long-term management objective. Since humans have replaced the whitetails natural predators with the urban environment, it is left to humans to manage their population densities.