SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Researchers say they are tracking does,
their fawns and predators with hopes of understanding why Utah's
mule deer population is declining. The four-year study is a
partnership of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, BYU and
Utah State University. Most of the $950,000 needed to fund the
study comes from state auctions for big game tags. Researchers
hope to determine the extent that coyotes prey on the deer.
Researchers and biologists in March captured 65 pregnant does on
their wintering ground in Piute County. Radio collars were
placed on their necks. Transmitters also were implanted in the
mothers-to-be before they were released. (Copyright 2012 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)