Wildlife researcher Ellie Bolas reveals the private lives of local mule deer—see her recorded presentation
Ellie Bolas watching for mule deer.
Behavioral ecologist Ellie Bolas shared discoveries she has made during her ongoing research concerning mule deer in the Santa Monica Mountains and Conejo Valley as COSF’s third Speaker Series presentation of 2025 on July 9.
Bolas’s focus is on the impact of human-caused disturbance to the deer’s habit, including wildfire. She notes that our native mule deer are both ecologically important as the primary prey of mountain lions and economically significant as a favorite target of hunters. During her 15 years of observation, however, Bolas has seen a decline in deer populations. One contributing factor, she believes, may be the recent arrival of Chronic Wasting Disease, a contagious, prion-based neurological condition that leads to death. (One of its symptoms is loss of the animal’s natural wariness, so overly friendly deer may not be healthy.)
Bolas is looking forward to adding the Palisades and Franklin Fire zones to her study to find out how deer cope in newly burned open space. “Some studies suggest burned areas are attractive to deer because of the plant regrowth,” she says.
Bolas says she is also optimistic about the potential benefits of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing’s completion because mule deer are troubled by the same lack of genetic diversity that effects mountain lions.
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