Why are there so many deer in urban and suburban areas?

White-tailed deer are a common sight in urban and suburban neighborhoods. They are well-known as an "urban-adapted" species - one that is able to exploit resources in human occupied areas, but is not entirely dependent on humans for their survival (Rodewald and Gehrt, 2014). Deer thrive in what are known as "edge" habitats. These are places where natural habitats meet human-dominated landscapes. Common examples of edge habitats are suburban yards, parks or agricultural fields bordered by forest or wetland. Deer are able to utilize resources from both habitat zones, providing them with an abundance of food, water, and shelter. Additionally, hunting is often prohibited in residential areas, resulting in low deer mortality (Bowman, 2011). In areas with hunting permitted nearby, these exclusion zones (where no hunting is permitted) may provide refuge for deer during hunting seasons (Storm et al., 2007).

Many studies on deer have focused on understanding their ecology and behavior in suburban landscapes. Research suggests that deer are most likely to utilize residential areas in winter and spring, when natural food sources may be limited, and often retreat to areas farther from people during the summer when young fawns are present. Food sources found in suburban neighborhoods, such as birdfeeders and garden plants, may increase deer visitation to these areas (Kilpatrick and Spohr, 2000). The presence of supplemental food sources may cause deer (and other wildlife) to congregate, resulting in locally high deer densities (Murray et al., 2016).

References:

Bowman, J.L. 2011. Managing White-tailed Deer: Exurban, Suburban, and Urban Environments. In, Hewitt, D. G. (ed.), 2011. Biology and Management of White-tailed Deer. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fl. pp. 599-620

Kilpatrick, H.J., and S.M. Spohr. 2000. Spatial and Temporal Use of a Suburban Landscape by Female White-tailed Deer. Wildlife Society Bulletin 28(4): 1023-1029. Accessed at https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/3783862.pdf

Murray, M.H., D.J. Becker, R.J. Hall, and S.M. Hernandez. 2016. Wildlife Health and Supplemental Feeding: A Review and Management Recommendations. Biological Conservation 204: 163-174. Accessed at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716306851?casa_token=SCR68e_IrV8AAAAA:XRhH8pHvbDX31F1TcKCnYkI_DvhyykD8wbLvRlGYq9g8HTPbxJfu9zMBaXBxHgXaXAD8bypFDV4

Rodewald, A. D., and S. D. Gehrt. 2014. Wildlife population dynamics in urban landscapes. In: McCleery, R.A., C.E. Moorman, and M.N. Peterson (eds), Urban Wildlife Conservation, Theory and Practice, Chapter 8, pp:132-133. Springer, New York

Storm, D.J., C.K. Nielson, E.M. Schauber, and A. Woolf. 2007. human-Deer Conflict and Hunter Access in an Exurban Landscape. Human-Wildlife Conflicts 1(1): 53-59. Accessed at https://www.jstor.org/stable/24875053