Factors affecting capture myopathy in white-tailed deer

Capture myopathy can be a significant cause of mortality for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and other ungulates. Capture and handling may affect rates of myopathy. During 1988-92 we captured 415 white-tailed deer with rocket-nets and Clover traps as part of a deer mortality study in northcentral Missouri. We placed radiotransmitters on 250 of these deer and assumed capture myopathy was the cause of death for 23 deer that died within 26 days of capture. All myopathy suspects were captured with rocket-nets. We examined differences in 6 handling variables for rocket-net-captured deer that died within 26 days of capture and those that lived more than 26 days. We fit a Cox proportional hazard model to these data to determine the capture variables most affecting myopathy for deer captured with rocket nets. Survival of captured deer was most influenced by the number of deer captured together. Process times should be minimized to reduce stress to captured deer.