Talbot's Early Deer Harvest Fell 24% as Statewide Total Rose

EASTON, MARYLAND — Hunters took 251 deer in Talbot County during the early archery and muzzleloader seasons this fall, down 23.9% from 330 a year earlier, even as Maryland's statewide early harvest rose 3% to 19,505 deer.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources released the county totals Monday for the period from Sept. 11 through Oct. 31. In Talbot, the antlered harvest fell from 159 to 127 deer and the antlerless harvest fell from 171 to 124.

The department said multiple Eastern Shore counties had moderate outbreaks of hemorrhagic disease this summer and fall, and that localized drops in white-tailed deer numbers may have contributed to lower harvests in those areas. The release does not list which counties had outbreaks.

Hemorrhagic disease is a viral illness spread to white-tailed deer by biting midges, often called no-see-ums, according to DNR. It typically shows up in late summer or early fall, and sick or dead deer found near water at that time of year can be a sign of it. DNR says the virus is not contagious to humans. It checks for the disease by looking for sloughing hoof tissue on deer taken during the firearms season.

Nearby Shore counties showed a mixed picture in DNR's figures.

Source: Maryland Department of Natural Resources, harvests Sept. 11–Oct. 31.

Dorchester's sika deer harvest went the other way, rising 3.2% to 1,483. Statewide, the early harvest was 5.3% above the previous five-year average of 18,526 deer. Archery hunters took 10,671 deer statewide, up 7%, while the October muzzleloader harvest of 8,451 was down 6%. Another 383 deer were taken statewide under managed hunting programs.

The department notes that harvests swing from year to year with hunter effort, weather, acorns and other natural food, disease outbreaks and the size of the herd.

Maryland's two-week firearms season for deer opens Saturday, Nov. 28.