Point Pelee National Park will be temporarily shutting its gates to visitors for the second time in as many months.
Parks Canada and Caldwell First Nation will be conducting the second phase of a deer cull between January 19 and 26. The first phase of the deer population reduction took place between November 24 and December 1.
The deer reduction is part of the Hyperabundant Deer Management Program, which includes ecosystem monitoring, deer population monitoring, species at risk protection, and reducing the white-tailed deer population to sustainable levels.
A high population of white-tailed deer is considered a serious threat to forest and savannah health, and an annual reduction helps to ensure the long-term health of the park’s sensitive ecosystem.
Parks Canada estimates that the current deer herd population at Point Pelee National Park is two to three times higher than what the ecosystem can support.
The park will reopen to the public on January 27.