Importantly, there was no discernible change in sika deer sighting rates in either the poisoned or non-poisoned areas after the poison drop: deer sighting rates remained fairly constant for the next 4 weeks (Figure 2), regardless of area.

However, the team wanted to look further into the issue of possible 1080 effects on the sika deer population in the Paemahi area. Based on camera sightings they estimated deer density across the region using three different extrapolation methods. Next, they conducted systematic ground searches over the baited area and counted and collected tissue for poison residue analysis from any deer carcasses they found. This provided a more detailed picture: 11 dead sika deer were found after the 1080 bait drop and all had 1080 residues. Averaged for the area as a whole, this equated to 1.6 carcasses per square kilometre, and accordingly the team estimated that approximately 10% of the sika population would have succumbed to 1080 poisoning. While this figure is at the upper end of the expected mortality if EDR is effective, the result did serve to illustrate an important point: for a high-density population such as that in the Paemahi area, 10% incidental deaths from a 1080 bait operation is likely to be negligible for the population of deer, with sika numbers likely to recover rapidly through increased reproduction and fawn survival as the result of more available food.