What are deer doing in my yard?
Idaho’s mule deer and white-tailed deer are “edge” species, preferring to browse in open areas near forests or dense shrubs. Our urban landscapes, with their innumerable edges, are consequently very attractive to deer. On average, deer eat about 7 pounds of food-3 percent of their body weight-each day. They’re most active in the early morning and evening. Deer like to nibble, tasting first one plant, then another, and will return to your yard repeatedly if they’ve learned they’ll find good things to eat there. While they like some plants-and some stages of plant life-better than others, they’re far from fussy. Deer also drink 2 to 4 quarts of water a day-sometimes from birdbaths or water features. Typically, they have one or two fawns each spring, although triplets aren’t unusual for white-tails. Benefits and conflicts Who doesn’t enjoy watching these graceful animals, especially with their adorable fawns at their sides? But deer can cause extensive damage to urban landscapes, orchards
