Impacts of a Severe Hailstorm on a White-tailed Deer Population in East-central Alabama

Tristan J. Swartout^1,*, Matthew T. McDonough¹, and Stephen S. Ditchkoff¹

¹College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, Auburn University, 602 Duncan Drive, Auburn, AL 36849. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 22, Issue 3 (2023): 379–396

Abstract
Hailstorms capable of producing damaging hail ≥2.5 cm in size are rare but can have a significant impact on wildlife, with mortality events well documented with avian species. However, there is still a poor understanding of the impacts damaging hail can have on ungulate survival. We had a unique case study, when a hailstorm produced hailstones up to ~7 cm in diameter in the area of Camp Hill, AL, and the nearby Auburn Captive Deer Facility (ACF) on 26 March 2023. With the ACF being completely enclosed with fencing, we were able to conduct extensive surveys for mortality cases of Odocoileus virginianus (White-tailed Deer) shortly after the hailstorm. We detected no cases of mortality attributed to the storm. We speculate that no mortality occurred due to the ACF containing mature forests with adequate overstory that provided structural cover for deer from hailstone strikes. Further examination of the literature found that a substantial proportion of hail-induced mortality has occurred in agricultural areas, wetlands, and grasslands where there was limited to no canopy cover. This result may suggest that deer inhabiting forested regions are at less risk from hailstorms compared to conspecifics inhabiting open habitat.

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