I have what I consider to be good snowshoes: they match body weight to surface support ratio, they are fairly lightweight, and the harness usually keeps my boot in place.
However, the depth of snow laying in the field right now is almost waist deep, which makes for some wicked difficult snowshoeing.
The usual “whuff-whuff-whuff” rhythm of snowshoes doing their thing is now replaced with “whuff ... whuff ... whew.” Makes me appreciate that I do not have to rely on this manner of transportation to get groceries; starvation would be a real concern.
My whining aside, starvation is indeed a real concern to some of the local wildlife. Critters like deer, moose, fox and coyote, with their long legs and relatively small feet, are having a real challenge getting around to find their daily intake of nutrition.
The total accumulation of snow since Dec. 1 has, as of today, reached 12 feet (366 cm), which is a record amount according to our daily weather notes from on the farm. As mentioned, the compressed layer of snow is now at 39 inches (90 cm) and it looks like more is likely to come before a good March thaw hits.
For wildlife trying to move about, this is called floundering! A super amount of energy is used just trying get to another source of food to replace said expended energy. Some would refer this to a “no-win” situation.
Across the concession road from us is a large conifer swamp, consisting of white cedar, balsam fir, hemlock, and a scattering of yellow birch and a few black cherry. This is prime winter real estate for white-tailed deer, as both shelter and food are abundant, as well as a small flowing creek.
White-tailed deer have been living in this part of Ontario since the first forests started to grow after the melting of the Wisconsin glacier, about 8,000 years ago. The deer have survived nasty winters, being stalked by really big wolves, and being relentlessly hunted by all forms of humans for centuries. And somehow they have survived quite well.
Just ‘how’ deer survive winter is a multi-layered answer, thanks in part due to behavioural changes, and partially due to physical changes.
In the summer months, deer are somewhat solitary beasts, other than the doe and one or two of her fawns that stay together. When the daylight hours start to shrink and the temperature begins to hit the freezing mark, the deer suddenly become a lot chummier. They gather in conifer swamps, in moderate- to large-sized herds, called winter deer yards.
When many deer, albeit with sharp hooves, begin to follow each other through the hemlock thickets, each packing down a bit of snow, a trail is created. These trails will criss-cross the yard as the herd moves from one thicket to another seeking food. The walking becomes somewhat easy and therefore a minimal amount of that precious stored energy is used.
Each deer requires about a volleyball-sized volume of tree buds a day. That’s a lot of nibbling! If the deer have been fortunate to live in an area with good food sources, their autumn gained fat reserves should keep them alive for about three months with minimal recharge needed.
OK, so they are fat and have nice sidewalks: anything else? The long winter fur coat that deer grow are hollow strands, which are insulative (and float, if a nasty accident occurs).
This winter pelage has another feature to assist the deer to survive ... the fur is blue-grey in colour, allowing them to blend in with snow shadows, escaping the notice of wandering coyotes or more likely subdivision dogs out on a run. When the winter fur is shed next spring the tawny-red will show through once again.
Once upon a time, a couple of careers ago, I was part of a deer management project with the Ministry of Natural Resources in Copeland Forest. There were a couple of deer technicians whose job it was to assist the local deer yard (containing about 300 animals) to survive until fawning time next April. I was a tag-along to assist with any heavy lifting.
The west end of the Copeland Forest is a vast conifer swamp, perfect for a convergence of deer every fall. Apple trees were planted to provide late fall and early winter food, land was plowed and sown with wheat and corn to provide the important high nutrient food source for winter fat creation.
We ran snowmobile trails through the swamp, creating pathways for the deer to utilize. Large hoppers were built and stocked throughout the winter with a mixture of corn, barley, oats, and wheat. Hunting was encouraged but limited to use of primitive weapons like muzzleloaders and archery (no multi shots from shotguns or rifles).
Did it work? Well, kinda, not really. But lessons were learned.
Packing man-made winter trails allowed the coyotes and dogs ready access to the deer yard, while the deer typically stuck to their own pathways as they knew where they led to.
The apple trees took major effort to protect from being browsed right to the ground; large fence enclosures were brought in to let the trees mature and produce fruit. Today these rusting fences encircle dead apple stems and are themselves absorbed by the successional change of meadow to shrub land.
And the winter feeding proved costly and labour intensive with more harm threatened than good done. There are many reports you can Google on-line that will provide both good and bad opinions of winter feeding of deer. It is, and always has been, a controversial topic.
The big thing is not to feed hay and alfalfa, as the digestive enzymes within a deer’s digestive system change in winter (when it is naturally programmed to accept minimal amounts of tree buds). It takes about two weeks for the enzymes to react to become functional, and many a dead deer was found with a belly full of undigested hay (not in Copeland, but across the land at other winter feeding areas).
Nowadays the accepted way to help deer (if you insist on interfering) is to knock down some hardwood trees in March. If the winter has been stressful, that important fat layer may be coming to an end and a bit of easy access to maple tree tops might help them make it to the next thaw.
And now, as I look out the window, another four inches of freshly fallen snow awaits me. Certainly getting my daily exercise this winter (and reducing my stored fay layer!)