[Illustration: _Figure 1.--Snow depth and penetrability by deer and wolves near Isabella, Minnesota, 1966-67._]
[Illustration: _Figure 2.--Snow depth and penetrability by deer and wolves near Isabella, Minnesota, 1967-68._]
[Illustration: _Figure 3.--Snow depth and penetrability by deer and wolves near Isabella, Minnesota, 1968-69._]
The snow penetrability in 1966-67 remained high throughout January, February, and March. During the following winter, penetrability fluctuated more, but even at its greatest, it was relatively unimportant to deer because the total snow depth was so low. During 1968-69, however, penetrability was a very important aspect of snow condition. It was so high during late January and early February, when snow accumulation was also at its peak, that a walking deer would be expected to sink in 2.5 to 3.5 feet. Snow penetrability then decreased through February and March to a point where a walking deer would sink in approximately 0.6 foot on March 21. However, because snow accumulation remained so high through February and March, the lower penetrability during late February and March still afforded no relief to running deer, because they must exert forces several times as great as when walking. On the contrary, the low penetrability (which is an indirect measure of density) could be expected to hinder a running deer in deep snow, for it would cause much more resistance.
[Illustration: _Figure 4.--During the winter of 1968-69, the snow was unusually deep in the study area. (Photo courtesy of L. D. Frenzel.)_]
Deer movements, like snow conditions, varied greatly during the three winters of the study. During the first two winters, deer were generally found singly and in groups of two to six, often around the shores of lakes but also scattered about inland. In late January and February 1967, running deer were observed sinking deeply into snow, but their movements still did not seem to be hindered, no doubt because of the high penetrability (low density) of the snow that year (fig. 1).
However, during late January, February, and March of 1969 the deer were much more concentrated, mostly in conifer swamps, along southwest-facing slopes, or on lakes. Although groups of two or three animals could be found in scattered inland "pockets" throughout the winter, groups of five or six were not uncommon on lakes during January. The tendency to concentrate continued to increase, and on February 6, as many as 11 deer were observed on one lake; by March 13, group size had increased to as high as 22 deer in the same area. Throughout February and March, heavy concentrations of deer tracks covered most wilderness lakes, further evidencing much greater use of shorelines than had occurred in the two previous winters (fig. 5).