Laramie -

Wyoming residents who feed deer during winter certainly have good intentions, but it is important to remember the unintended consequences and resist the urge to try to “help” these animals by feeding them. People commonly make the mistake that feeding deer is beneficial. But, mule deer in particular have a highly specialized digestive system with specific bacteria in their stomach to aid in the digestion of natural foods, mostly woody vegetation. They are often not able to properly digest foods outside of this range, such as hay, birdseed, fruit, grain, or pellets. When mule deer have access to such artificial food sources, often they are found dead with stomachs full of undigested food.

- WGFD -