Does the moon affect deer movements?

Posted on: March 18, 2015 | Bob Frye | Comments

moon

Update, Aug. 14, 2017: A survey and research by Penn State’s Wildlife and Fisheries Science program found that the moon phase has an insignificant effect on deer movement. For more results, check out their article here.

Original post, March 18, 2015: There’s nothing so full of tradition as deer hunting.

Guys hunt from the same camps, even the same stands, year after year after year, carrying the same rifle and after eating the same opening-day breakfast they’ve shared with dads and granddads and sons and daughters.

A lot of “conventional” deer wisdom gets passed along as gospel from one generation to the next, too.

But is it really true?

Some white-tailed deer work underway in Pennsylvania aims to find out. Researchers from the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Unit and the Pennsylvania Game Commission have put radio and GPS collars on deer in a number of places around Pennsylvania and are tracking their movements.

They’re going to be look at – among other things – how deer react to changes in the moon and weather.

“There are a lot of widely-held beliefs about what causes deer to move, how far, and when they move,” said Duane Diefenbach, leader of the Research Unit. “We thought it would be fun to see what people think about how deer move and see if that’s actually true.”

Hunters can take a survey that asks a few questions about their opinions on deer movement. You can find it by clicking here.

The survey is only going to be up for a limited time. When it closes, researchers will post results.

Some preliminary findings are already available. Among those who have taken the survey already, the vast majority believe the moon phase has at least some impact on deer movement. Many think deer will travel more often at night and less during the day when there’s a full moon.

You can check out those results here.

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See also, Timing Of The Whitetail Rut And How To Hunt It

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Bob Frye is the everybodyadventures.com editor. Reach him at 412-838-5148 or bfrye@535mediallc.com. See other stories, blogs, videos and more at everybodyadventures.com.

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