Population Density

Goucher’s campus is 1.16 square kilometers, and was home to approximately 200 deer in 2007. In that same year, a biologist from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources said that the Goucher forests can support only 40 deer. Other estimates of the carrying capacity for white-tailed deer are 8 per square kilometer. By either estimate, the deer population is far above its carrying capacity.

Being above carrying capacity is harmful to the deer, to nearby humans, and to the habitat. Deer overpopulation leads to the spread of vectors of disease, modifies the forest ecosystem, and increases the risk of car accidents. However, the cultural carrying capacity (or general idea of how many deer can be sustained in an area) is far higher than the healthy biological carrying capacity, making it difficult for people to recognize the damage deer are causing.