Spring Carcass Surveys

Fresh deer and elk carcasses in the Gardiner basin have been counted annually in late April or early May since 1989. Researchers conduct aerial counts from a helicopter and survey open sagebrush and grassland habitats on the winter range from Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth. This count only documents the presence of carcasses and does not identify age or sex. In recent years an average of less than one deer carcass per year has been reported. This low number is probably a result of relatively mild winters; counts following the severe winters of 1989 and 1997 documented 38 and 65 deer carcasses respectively.