This past December, I found myself in Big Pine Key, camera in hand, surrounded by the quiet beauty of Florida’s Key deer.
I was there with my friend and collaborator, Paul Fuzinski of Aptitude Outdoors and his wife Christina photographing and filming these animals as part of our ongoing work in wildlife documentary storytelling.
The tiny Key deer move differently than most whitetails—smaller, gentler, almost ghostlike as they slip between hardwood hammocks and pine rocklands.
And when I say tiny we’re talking a big buck tops out at round 60 pounds on the hook. They are the smallest subspecies of whitetail and are a federally endangered species.
In fact, standing there in the early light, it was impossible not to think about how close these deer once came to disappearing altogether.
Their survival is not accidental. It is the result of one of the most important — and often overlooked — wildlife conservation victories in North American history.
In the 1950s their population was down to 50 when the Boone & Crockett Club (B&C) donated $5,000 to hire a game warden named Jack C. Watson to protect them from poachers. Eventually, this action and his efforts were heralded as saving the species altogether.
This action of the B&C is virtually unknown outside of the club itself and a few people in the Keys. I found it out while doing some serious research on the species a few years ago. This is literally a case where hunters stepped in and saved a species outright.
Most recently, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) officials, Hurricane Irma in 2017 killed 21 deer with an additional dozen killed in the chaotic aftermath. With the latest estimates showing only 949, that hurts.
For perspective, I have hunted on a single 5,000 acre low-fence Texas ranch with more whitetails than that.
Additionally, an old foe last seen in the U.S. more than 30 years ago, hit the Keys hard in 2016. But Texans came to the rescue.
“Screwworms infested the population, which is spread across more than 20 islands. It led to 135 Key deer deaths, including 83 that were euthanized to reduce the risk of further infection,” said Dr. Roel Lopez. “This was a significant blow to a species, which is uniquely located in that area.”
Doctor Lopez is director and co-principal investigator for the Key deer study, San Antonio, a project of Texas A&M University (TAMU). TAMU, along with various agencies including USFWS, alleviated the crisis by preventive treatment and fly eradication efforts. This included feed stations lined with anti-parasitic medications and releasing 60 million sterile male screwworms to mate with wild female flies and curb reproduction.
That is a big effort for a little deer, but there is much love for them among those who understand their delicate existence. A single disease outbreak or storm could literally wipe out the population.
A more consistent issue is roadkill.
When we visited, the sign at the refuge headquarters said 121 were killed by vehicles in 2024 and by our visit Dec. 10, 2025 some 91 had been hit.
The National Key Deer Refuge was established in 1957 to protect and preserve the national interest the Key deer and other wildlife resources in the Florida Keys.
The Refuge is located on Big Pine and No Name Key and consists of approximately 9,200 acres of land that includes pine rockland forests, tropical hardwood hammocks, freshwater wetlands, salt marsh wetlands, and mangrove forests.
It gives them a place to exist but as roads intersect much of it, mortality is still an isssue.
In 2025 New World screwworm has been detected again in parts of Mexico, raising concerns among wildlife biologists, veterinarians, and agricultural officials.
History has shown that the screwworm does not respect borders. Left unchecked, it can move northward, re-establishing itself in regions where it was once eradicated.
For wildlife like the Key deer, the return of screwworm would be catastrophic. For livestock, it would represent billions of dollars in losses. And for conservationists, it would mean fighting a battle we already know is costly, complex, and urgent.
Standing in Big Pine Key this December, watching a doe and her fawn move through the palmettos, it was impossible not to think about how fragile recovery can be. Conservation victories are not permanent unless they are protected.
The story of the screwworm reminds us that vigilance is just as important as scientific innovation.
It also reminds us that many of the greatest conservation successes happen quietly, behind the scenes, through collaboration rather than controversy. Texas A&M’s role in eliminating the screwworm helped save not only the Key deer, but countless other wildlife species and agricultural livelihoods across the country.
The Boone & Crockett Club’s recognition of this effort underscores how deeply connected hunting heritage, science, and wildlife conservation truly are.
Paul and I left Big Pine Key with more than footage. We left with a renewed sense of responsibility to tell this story fully. In 2026 we will be producing a mini-documentary focused on the Key deer, not just their beauty, but the unseen threats they’ve survived and the people who stepped in when it mattered most.
The Key deer are still here because science, cooperation, and commitment won out over complacency. As the specter of screwworm once again looms to the south, their story serves as both a warning and an inspiration.
Sometimes saving wildlife isn’t about finding something new.
Sometimes it’s about remembering what almost happened and making sure it never happens again.
Chester Moore
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