Notable Numbers from the 2015 Deer Harvest
Last week DEC announced the 2015 Deer Harvest Estimates. A full report of the harvest is available at Deer and Bear Harvests.
Notable Numbers from the 2015 Deer Harvest
- 52,581 — estimated number of bucks taken in 2015 that were 2.5 years old or older. Only 47% of bucks taken statewide were yearlings (52% in units without antler restrictions). Bucks don’t get older if they get shot when they’re young. Consider passing up shots on young, small-antlered bucks.
- 67% — proportion of eligible junior hunters that participated in the 2015 Youth Deer Hunt. Junior Hunter Mentoring Program.
- 15.9 and 0.6 — number of deer taken per square mile in the units with the highest (WMU 8N) and lowest (WMUs 5C and 5F) harvest density.
- ±2% — precision of the New York state deer harvest estimate.
- 56% — proportion of successful deer hunters that ignored their responsibility to report their harvest as required by law.
- 13,936 — number of hunter harvested deer checked by DEC staff in 2015.
- 37 to 1 — ratio of deer taken by hunters to deer taken on damage permits in 2015.
- 30% — proportion of the Southern Zone deer take that occurred during the opening weekend of the regular firearms season.
- 33,508 — number of deer tested in New York for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the past 10 years, including 2,447 deer tested in 2015-16. DEC has not detected any additional cases of CWD in New York since the disease was found in 5 captive deer and 2 wild deer in 2005. Learn How You Can Help Protect NY’s Deer from CWD.
- 87.7% — proportion of DMPs (doe tags) that went unfilled in 2015, slightly more than the 85.1% that were unfilled in 2014.