White-tailed deer pick different habitat and behaviors in breeding and nonbreeding seasons
Variable seasonal deer behavior results in changes in transmission levels for chronic wasting disease. As of 2025, the lethal prion disease, chronic wasting disease (CWD), has been found in 36 states, infecting cervids like white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). In a new study tracking the behavior of nearly 600 white-tailed deer across six years in southwest Wisconsin, researchers found that deer are more likely to prefer forests compared to open spaces like pasture. Despite this general preference, deer tended to use the open areas in the summer after fawning and in the nonbreeding winter more than during other seasons. The amount of resources in open areas like farms and pastures could attract deer and create opportunities for transmission of CWD between social groups. The authors also found that females tend to use the same, relatively small areas year after year to raise their young and that deer are more social between groups in breeding and nonbreeding seasons, creating opportunities for disease transmission. During fawning season, though, deer tend to be preoccupied with raising their young, decreasing opportunities for CWD transmission. Understanding where and when deer move across the landscape will help researchers better manage CWD transmission, the researchers concluded.
Read more at Wildlife Monographs.
