Northern Illinois Deer in Winter

Yesterday, while enjoying some forest preserve time with my husband and daughter, we tried to find deer. After not seeing a single deer, I pondered: What do deer do in the winter? Do they hibernate? So here are a couple answers to what they do during the winter in Illinois:

Wiki Answers: They will find a place where there is little snow, like under a short tree. Or in a thicket of bushes.

The Wilderness Classroom: Deer like to eat a variety of different vegetation. In the summer they eat acorns, green plants, nuts, fruits, and aquatic plants. In the fall they switch to eating grasses and evergreen plants. During the winter they eat woody plants because that is all that is available. A varied diet is important for deer because it allows them to get the right nutrients at different times of the year. If winter lasts a long time than often starvation will kill the deer because of a lack of nutrient rich trees.

Nixon et al: Studies of large mammals suggest that most migration behavior is learned from kin, not genetically fixed. In Illinois, however, where landscapes are flat, forages are seasonally abundant and winter weather seldom threatens deer, such behaviors, while rare, are still present. Indeed, migration behavior was observed from the earliest years of deer reintroduction in Illinois, as deer moved seasonally toward and away from the Rock River in northern Illinois. The climate of Illinois is temperate continental, with cold winters and warm summers. Jan., the coldest month averages -3.1 C, and Jul., the warmest, averages 23.6 C in central Illinois. In most years, snow seldom covers the ground for extended periods even in northern Illinois.

Snow seldom covers the ground for extended periods even in northern Illinois? I beg to differ! Last year, I don't remember seeing the ground at all during winter, only snow. So what do the deer do then? Did they migrate last year to south of Chicago?

This post begins my new attempt to learn more about my local ecosystem. Schools don't teach it any more, though at the turn of the 20th Century, it was required coursework in American public schools. Perhaps my daughter will grow up knowing more about her local ecosystem than I ever did.


Blessed Be.