Deer & ELk Research

This is a current project examining mule deer movements, home range, survival, and crop utilization in the Texas Panhandle. It is a large collaboration between TCC, Texas A&M - Kingsville Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Sul Ross Borderlands Research Institute, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. 

As the third species included in the tri-species research (along with bighorn sheep and invasive aoudad) currently underway in the Trans Pecos area of Texas, research aims to investigate habitat use and movements as they relate to competition and potential disease transmission within and among species. 

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More about the Tri-Species Project 

The TCC is investigating axis deer impacts on riparian habitats, population dynamics, potential disease susceptibility, and genetic diversity in central Texas.  Collaborators on this research include the TTU Center at Junction, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Hill Country Alliance, partial funding from Houston Safari Club Foundation, and additional assistance from the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife. Data gained from this project will fill in a large information gap on the ecology of free-ranging invasive axis deer in Texas.

Though TCC became involved in this research in 2015, the Large Mammal Monitoring portion of the Southwest Jemez Mountains Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project (CFLRP) started in 2012.  Collaborators on this research include the Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico State University, the Santa Fe National Forest, and the Jemez Pueblo. Researchers hope to evaluate elk habitat and resource selection on an actively restored landscape relative to mule deer competition and cougar and black bear predation.