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Even in Fairfax, whose human population density in 2005 was 2,588 per square mile (100 times that of Rappahannock), 63 percent of the land area is still deer habitat. This makes file county ground zero for conflicts with vehicles and gardens. £fow many deer are there?
%.... The new Virginia Deer Management Plan estimates that the overall number of deer in Virginia has remained stable for the past decade, fluctuating between 850,000 and 1,050,000, with a mean of abpfte 945,000 animals. This estimate ip not based on a direct count, but rather «a» population index, the ratio of deer killed to available deer habitat
However, wildlife ecologist Bill MeShea of the Smithsonian Institution^ National Zo0*l Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal has conducted detailed population surveys in Clarke County as part of his long term studies of deer eralogy. His surveys have produced an estimate of between 9,500 and 15,000 animals fogf the county, compared to the estimate of 7,500 to 12,000 animals derived frp* the VDGIF population index. |5
This difference may indicate th|| the VDGIF estimate is conservative^* and that the actual Virginia deer population could be even greater than the 850,000 to 1,050,000 range.
How this number compares to the
72.0%