Sep 16, 2025
Photo courtesy of NYSDEC Scruffy-looking deer are normal for this time of the seasonal evolution in weather.
Residents across Western New York and northwestern Pennsylvania may notice white-tailed deer looking scruffy, patchy, or even “sickly” as the seasons change. Visually, their hair appears to be falling out in many cases. Wildlife officials want to reassure the public that this appearance is entirely normal and part of the deer’s annual cycle. In short, it is a seasonal molting process as the deer prepare for the colder weather ahead.
White-tailed deer shed their thin, reddish summer coat each year in late August through October and grow in a dense, gray-brown winter coat. This process, known as the seasonal molt, can make deer look ragged or unhealthy. The molt is triggered by changes in daylight and hormones, not by disease. Deer can often appear patchy or shaggy for several weeks during this transition. By late October, most deer grow a full coat of healthy hair with their full winter coats and appear sleek again. So, these seasonal changes reflect healthy deer.
Of more delight is the fact that the deer in Western New York are 100% free of chronic wasting disease, a problem with whitetail deer in many other western and midwestern states. This fact is a draw for hunters from other states to travel to Western New York. Anyone with questions about the health of deer in New York can contact the New York State DEC Wildlife Health Unit at 518-402-8920, and in northwest Pennsylvania, can contact the Pennsylvania Game Commission at 833-742-9453. The New York and Pennsylvania archery seasons will open on Oct. 1 in most wildlife management units.
Chautauqua County is the land of big-game hunting opportunities for whitetail deer and abundant black bears. There were 8,895 whitetail deer harvested in Chautauqua County last year, including nearly 5,000 adult bucks greater than 1.5 years old. Harvest included a tally of more than 7.4 deer (bucks and does) per square mile. Chautauqua County is prime with public and private hunting land across more than 1,000 square miles of mostly undisturbed countryside. Approximately 20% of the deer harvested here are with a bow. Reviews of bowhunter logbooks show that hunters viewed 10 deer for every 10 hours of hunting. There were 58 black bears harvested last year in wildlife management units 9J and 9K, 29 during bow season and 29 with firearms.
Nature’s organic health food mix for big, strong deer in Chautauqua County includes apple orchards, corn fields, and vineyards. The rolling hills support forests of sweet white oak, beech, and hickory to provide sweet acorns and high-protein nut stock for deer. Plentiful wild berry bushes and grape fields provide a sweet mealtime for increasing numbers of black bears. High, straight, hardwood trees offer safe support for your ground-level tree-mount chair, a fixed ladder stand or a climbing tree stand. Gotta love the outdoors.
CALENDAR
Sept. 17: 3-D Archery, Evans Rod/Gun, 864 Cain Road, Angola; 4 p.m. to dark, 15-target course, Kitchen open, Jerome Gorski, 716-398-3008. Ends Sept. 24.
Sept. 18: 3-D Archery, West Falls Conservation, 55 Bridge St., West Falls, 4 p.m. start, 15-target hillside course. Kitchen open. Indoor/outdoor practice ranges. Mike Cummings, 716-652-4650. Ends Sept. 25.
Sept. 20: Steelhead Angler Event, Hairy Trout Fall Run Kickoff, Buffalo River Grove, 2-7 p.m., 2299 Clinton St., West Seneca; $15 entry, visit The Hairy Trout (barber shop/tackle shop), 3891 Seneca St., for tickets.
Sept. 20: 1-Day Walleye Derby, Lake Erie, $45 entry, Southtowns Walleye, Paul Sanchez, 716-228-6520
Sept. 20: NYS Hunter Education, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Falconer Rod/Gun Club, Rod and Gun Club Road, Falconer; Visit: https://dec.ny.gov.
Sept. 20: NYS Hunter Education, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., lunch provided, Bear Lake Rod & Gun, 4391 Cassadaga-Stockton Road, Stockton; Visit: https://dec.ny.gov. Info: Rudy Abersold, 716-397-9717.
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