Oh, deer!

This week I’ve noticed the deer. My friend called and said a deer had just run into the side of his car on West Montomery Avenue. “Wow”, I said, “There were three in my yard earlier.” Then a mother and very small fawn jumped out at me down the street. On Friday there was a deer laying between the lanes on the Rt. 28 train overpass - in the middle of the bridge! Is this more deer than usual for a two-day period? It certainly was for me, and this isn’t even the height of their active season from October to January.>

The Montgomery County Parks & Planning website states that reported deer collisions rose sharply in the 90′s, but have had slight decreases during the last three years of data. So maybe I just happen to be around the deer more, or maybe this is going to be a bumper year for deer.

The only proven way to alleviate the problem is by lethal means, and there is a great deal of hunting on the public lands in the County. Archery and sharpshooting are being considered for use in smaller urban parks. You might be interested to know that contraceptives for wild deer are not approved by the FDA, though two studies of captive deer are underway.

So, what are we supposed to do? Mainly stay alert when driving through areas with deer crossing signs or where there are trees - basically everywhere! The only other advice is to avoid swerving into oncoming traffic. Will do! Plus, watch out for those ticks the deer bring into our yards. We had one when we went outside for just ten minutes.

I’m rooting for a natural predator and we now have one - the coyote! Even though they don’t attack full-grown deer, they just might bring some balance to the situation.

Share and enjoy:

Hide Sites