Image: Brandon Wheat/Courtesy MSU
Perhaps the most fascinating part about collared wildlife studies is the travel data that comes back to biologists during the tenure of any given study. Whether it’s how far the travel across mountain ranges, across state lines or, in this case, across large bodies of water, the data seldom disappoints.
Rising to fame in 2021, Buck No. 140 turned heads after recordings revealed he traversed over 18 miles from the South Delta in western Mississippi and into Louisiana. While an 18-mile trek isn’t necessarily something that is unheard of for wandering whitetails, the fact that this trip included a swim across the mighty Mississippi River is what got researchers all hot and bothered.
As part of a joint study conducted by Mississippi State University and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Parks and Fisheries, researchers fixed a collar on the traveling buck in part of a study to get a handle on deer populations.
The buck’s longest recorded swim was an estimated 1.25 miles. To make matters even more interesting, that particular swim took place during a flood.
As part of a recent study by the guys and gals at the National Deer Association, biologist Matt Ross put out a call to fellow biologists to turn in their documented examples of deer crossing large bodies of water.
As the readings poured in from collared animals from across the country, Ross and his team poured over the evidence and presented their findings last month. While Buck No. 140 was definitely a favorite to win the competition, it was revealed that two other deer from nearby Arkansas had actually swam greater distances.
With five record deer crossing the Mississippi River from Arkansas, Deer No. 79847, a 2.5-year-old buck made a 1.4 mile swim, while Deer No. 79843, another 2.5 year-old-buck, nearly doubled Buck No. 140’s best distance swimming a stretch of the Mississippi measuring 2.4 miles during a flood.
Outside of the main scope of study, researchers were impressed by the distance our favorite cervids can and will swim when necessary. In many cases, it can be a life or death situation for these deer, as was illustrated in another similar study in Arkansas.
University of Arkansas researchers found that out of 18 deer collared for a flood study, the 13 animals that took to the river to survive, did just that. The five animals that chose not to cross all met their unfortunate demise.
While Buck No. 140 was legally harvested by a Mississippi hunter last fall, his legacy lives on by providing the data necessary to spring additional research projects that will inevitably lead to better deer management across the country.
