Here in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania we have several inches of snow on the ground at the present time and the forecast calling for more over the next several days. I started wondering what effect that it may have on the wildlife of the surrounding area. I think right now the most critical factor is the layer directly on the ground is either frozen or encased in ice from the storm we had back on Wednesday. Then there is a layer of snow encrusted due to that is freezing after the sun has gone down. A substantial snowfall event could create pockets of deep snow.

Our primary big game animal, the White Tail Deer, heavy snow does not pose and immediate threat to herd. Deer have a tendency to feed heavily twenty four to forty eight hours before a storm. They seem to have a built in meteorological time table built in. The danger to the Whitetail is that the energy burnt moving to food sources outweighs the nutritional value of the food stores available to them. Right now browse is their primary food source and does not have the nutritional value of grains, nuts, and grasses. Deer will also yard up when the snow is extremely heavy snow to reduce the energy loss from moving from feeding area to feeding area. Fat stores are expended during this period of time to supplement browse that is the primary food source. During a prolonged yarding situation, bucks have a higher mortality rate due to the fact that their fat stores are usually taxed during the rutting period and thus have less available during the balance of the winter.

Snow has more of an effect on the Wild Turkey population. Turkeys have a tendency to walk to food sources and fluffy snow over six inches deep pose a problem for turkeys since it impedes their ability to move and will founder. Crusted snow provides footing for turkeys to move to food sources, but finding food sources still pose a problem. They will use areas where deer have yarded and other animals have congregated to search for food. Turkeys have the ability to go for prolonged periods without food, up to two weeks, but leading up to that point they are more susceptible to predation. The turkey population could be decimated due to starvation after a period of two weeks.

In our area more people are concerned that the whitetail population, which seems to be down, will not survive a hard winter. This year has been worse than the past four or five years. Our real concern should be for the turkeys. With the extended forecast, they seem to be more at risk over the next several weeks.