13/03/2024

The Game Management Authority (GMA) recently released the 2023 abundance and population genetics of Hog Deer in Victoria report.

The report estimated the abundance and distribution of hog deer in Victoria and provides an insight into their population genetics.

Trail cameras were used in 153 sites spanning across Gippsland from Lower Tarwin to Point Hicks to provide abundance and distribution data.

Over 270 tissue samples were obtained from harvested Hog Deer at checking stations and the control program conducted at Wilsons Promontory National Park.

After collating and analysing the data, it is estimated that there are 4,252 Hog Deer in Victoria, with the highest abundance located on the Gippsland Plain (2,290) and the highest density at Wilsons Promontory (4.1 deer/km2).

The survey did not detect any Hog Deer east of Lakes Entrance.

The resulting genetic sampling identified three primary subpopulations of Hog Deer in Victoria: Wilsons Promontory, Sunday Island, and the Gippsland Plain.

The research discovered that Hog Deer populations have low genetic diversity, which suggests that they don’t tend to move into new areas or transit between areas. Of the three subpopulations, Snake Island was found to have a relatively high level of diversity, containing ancestry from all three Victorian subpopulations.

The increase in genetic mapping of subpopulations has the potential to help with compliance enforcement, as genetic material from existing Hog Deer heads can be tested and attributed to a geographic origin