00:00Texas, home to 5 million white-tailed deer and growing.
00:05One U.S. state has a white-tailed deer population larger than the human population of many countries.
00:11That state is Texas, where wildlife officials estimate roughly 5 million white-tailed deer
00:17live across 252 of the state's 254 counties.
00:23Texas has more white-tailed deer than any other state, occupying everything from remote
00:29ranchland to suburban green spaces.
00:32So how did the population become so enormous?
00:36Part of the answer is habitat.
00:38Texas contains forests, brush country, grasslands, farmland, river bottoms, and wooded suburban
00:44edges that provide deer with food and cover.
00:48Management has also played a major role.
00:51Wildlife agencies and private landowners use population surveys, habitat improvements, hunting
00:57regulations, and managed harvests to keep deer numbers aligned with what local landscapes
01:02can support.
01:03Recent weather helped too.
01:06Texas Parks and Wildlife reported strong fawn recruitment in 2024, followed by the statewide
01:12population climbing to about 5 million, up from 4.7 million in 2023.
01:19That abundance has major economic consequences.
01:22Texas.
01:23Deer hunting and landowner activity connected to white-tailed deer generate billions of dollars
01:28in economic output for Texas.
01:31But having millions of deer also creates challenges including habitat pressure, vehicle collisions,
01:36and overpopulation in some areas.
01:39Texas therefore does not simply have a lot of deer.
01:42It has an enormous wildlife management system trying to balance one of America's most successful
01:49large mammals with the land and people sharing its habitat.
01:52Texas où l'un separated.
01:52that.
Comments