Sitka Black-tailed deer were introduced to the Kodiak Archipelago from three separate populations of deer in Southeast Alaska. In 1924, 14 deer from Baranof Island (Sitka area) were released on Long Island. In 1930 two deer from Prince of Wales Island, west of Ketchikan, were added to the Long Island population. In 1934, nine deer from Kupreanof Island, near

Petersburg, were placed on the North end of Kodiak Island — 25 deer in all.

The Delta bison herd began with 19 animals introduced from the National Bison Range in Montana in 1928. The Afognak elk herd grew from an initial introduction of eight animals obtained from Washington state. Adak caribou arose from a total of 24 animals captured from the Nelchna herd. The Kodiak mountain goat population grew from about 15 animals.

Compared with most big game specie introductions, the 25 Sitka deer to Kodiak seems at least sufficient in numbers, and the animals came from three geographically separated populations which would lead one to believe that the opportunity for genetic diversity was at least better than average.

The first legal hunting of deer in the Kodiak Archipelago took place in 1953, harvesting 53 bucks. The highest recorded harvest of deer on Kodiak took place in 1988 when 13,800 deer were taken by hunters. After 1988, the annual harvest ranged between 7,000 and 10,000 deer, until 1999 when only 2,500 were reported taken. This dramatic drop was primarily due to the severe winter of 1998-99. Since that low point, harvests have been about 3,000 deer per year, but 2004 may see a much higher harvest total.

The first non-typical deer I saw on Kodiak was on the South end in Nov. 1994. This buck had no testes in its scrotum and was therefore sterile, it also had neck and shoulders more suggestive of a doe than a buck and was exceptionally fat. After that, I saw an annual increase in the number of these “weird deer” so that by 1998 about 20 percent of the bucks taken were without scrotal testes.

As these bucks do not go through the stress of the rut and carry more fat into the winter, I expected to see an even higher percentage of this type of buck in 1999 — after that unusually severe winter — and my expectations were confirmed that fall.

From 1999 through 2003, 72 percent of the more than 120 bucks sampled were sterile. For 2004, 80 percent of the bucks taken by groups on the south end were sterile.

I suspected that these bucks that had no testicles in their scrotum were exhibiting a condition known as cryptorchidism — i.e. the testes remain in the gut cavity instead of descending through the inguinal ring into the scrotum. This descent should take place prior to birth.

In 2000, Tom Dooley shot a buck with one testis in the scrotum and upon careful examination, we found a small, bluish-colored testis in the gut cavity between the kidneys and the inguinal ring. Since that first discovery, we have located most of the abnormally situated testes in bucks with either one or no testes in the scrotum.

We preserved tissues from these and normal deer testes for microscopic analysis, which confirmed that the undescended testes did not produce fertile sperm, and in fact, showed pre-cancerous and cancerous changes.

The occurrence of deer with one normal and one undescended testis suggests that whatever is causing this condition in different degrees might be due to dosage or length of exposure to the causative factor.

In 2004 we found 80 percent of the bucks in “the hot zone” to be sterile cryptrochids, leaving only 20 percent of the bucks apparently normal. On the west side of Kodiak, we found approximately 12 percent of the bucks were sterile. Reports and samples from throughout the Kodiak Archipelago indicate that this condition is widespread and has been here for many years, but with vastly different concentrations from one area to the next.

This situation potentially threatens our deer population and may have health implications for humans.

We need to find out what is causing this abnormal situation.

I’ve been collecting blood and tissue samples of normal and affected bucks, as well as samples from does, since 1999 and have sent them to Colorado State University for analysis and interpretation.

Anyone interested in bringing in samples of fat and skin with hair attached, please contact me. Observations or comments on this situation are most welcome.

E-mail Jake Jacobson, huntfish@ak.net, or call, 486-5253.

Jake Jacobson, who owns a hunting business, has been a full-time Kodiak resident since 1988. He has a degree in biology.