Zoo Animals in the Wilderness

Of the four species of wild ungulates seen at Point Reyes National Seashore, only two are native to the California coastal ecosystem, tule elk and black-tailed deer. The other two species, fallow deer and axis deer, were purchased from the San Francisco Zoo in the 1940s and released by a local landowner prior to the establishment of the Seashore. Axis deer are native to India and Sri Lanka. Fallow deer, natives of the Mediterranean and Asia Minor, are the most widely introduced deer species throughout the world. Descendants of these released animals, upwards of 1100 animals, can be seen throughout the pastoral lands and the wilderness areas of the park.

Hidden Impacts

Axis deer and fallow deer are extremely disruptive to the natural ecosystem at the Seashore. Some of the more serious effects these non-native deer have include competition for the same food and displacement of the native tule elk and black-tailed deer. Recent information indicates that the presence of these invasive species is greatly suppressing native black-tailed deer, a keystone species at Point Reyes. Fallow and axis deer also have potential for transmitting paratuberculosis (Johne’s disease) and exotic lice to the native ungulates.

Non-native deer damage riparian and woodland habitats and have indirect impacts to the native wildlife dependent on this habitat. Loss of riparian habitat can affect a number of threatened or endangered species, such as the California red-legged frog, coho and Chinook salmon and steelhead trout.

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An Historic Re-Introduction

In 1999, two dozen tule elk were re-introduced to the Limantour wilderness area of the Seashore. These animals are the founders of the first free-ranging elk population in the Point Reyes area since their local extirpation in the 19th century. Elk, historically the dominant herbivore in the coastal ecosystem, were hunted to near-extinction by early settlers to California. Because the new herd's range is used by both axis and fallow deer, Seashore managers are concerned that competition for forage, risks of disease transmission and direct behavioral interference may all impact the long-term survival of the elk population.

Expanding Threats

Since 1994 when control of exotic deer populations was discontinued, numbers of both species have returned to pre-controlled levels, approximately 250 axis deer and over 860 fallow deer. Axis deer populations, in particular, can increase very rapidly because of year-round breeding and early sexual maturity in fawns. Fallow deer, once limited to the central portion of the Seashore, are now found throughout all wilderness areas. Fallow deer range has even expanded beyond the borders of the park into nearby private property and state parklands.

The National Park Service and Exotic Ungulates

NPS policy on non-native animals requires their control or elimination when they pose a significant threat to park values, i.e. when the species: "threaten to alter natural ecosystems; seriously restrict, prey on, or compete with native populations..." (National Park Service, 1991). A 1999 Presidential Executive Order mandated that each Federal agency: "...detect and respond rapidly to and control populations of (invasive species) in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner..."

After four years of research and public participation, the NPS developed a plan to completely remove both species of non-native deer from the park by 2021. The plan responded to public comment by using both non-lethal and lethal methods to remove the two invasive species. Beginning in 2007, biologists, researchers and managers used long-acting contraception on as many non-native deer as possible and humanely removed others. The NPS donated meat and hides from culled deer to non-profit or charity organizations.

In the fall of 2008, the Seashore began focusing solely on contraceptive methods to control the non-native deer population. Over the next few years, the park's ambitious deer contraception program will involve veterinarians and wildlife contraception experts and utilize the most advanced techniques to ensure that the remaining deer herd is safely and humanely controlled. Park biologists and wildlife experts have determined that application of fertility control methods to the estimated 100 - 150 remaining deer over the next 5 years will likely result in a non-reproductive remnant herd. The non-native deer will not reproduce and will live out their natural lives within the Seashore over the next 10-15 years. The Seashore's contraception program is one of the largest studies ever attempted with free-ranging wild deer.

Non-native Deer Management: Frequently Asked Questions, June 2008 (34 KB PDF)

You can find out more by reading the Seashore’s Nonnative Deer Management Plan.

In May of 2008, Point Reyes National Seashore received a report prepared by the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) entitled "Strategies to Manage Axis and Fallow Deer at Pt. Reyes National Seashore and Environs, Including a Proposal to Designate such Deer a Cultural and Historic Resource at PRNS." After careful review, an analysis of the HSUS report was prepared by Seashore biologists and cultural resource managers. They evaluated the report's technical soundness as well as the feasibility of the recommendations. Many of the reports proposals were discussed at length in the park's Non-Native Deer Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), released in 2006.

Two-page Summary of Point Reyes National Seashore's Natural and Cultural Resources Management Divisions' Analysis of the Humane Society of the U.S. Report, "Strategies to Manage Axis and Fallow Deer," June 26, 2008 (20 KB PDF)

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