Hopefully most of us who live in this urban setting are aware that in the fall that we have to be especially mindful of deer dashing and darting onto the roadways.
Bucks are especially adventurous this time of year because of the so-called rut or mating season. They completely abandon their sense of self preservation in pursuit of does.
Keep in mind that when you see deer crossing signs along the road, they’ve been put up for a purpose.
Unfortunately, recent studies as cited in Tom Vanderbilt’s current best seller, “Traffic,” indicate that people really don’t heed the signs.
But as someone who has had one of those unfortunate car/deer collisions, I can tell you firsthand that it can happen in a flash and oftentimes in areas where the signs are.
Of course, it is not happenstance that the fall deer seasons in Missouri coincide with the rut. Deer are just simply more active – and aggressive right now.
“Maybe not so much aggressive, but becoming more and more visible and closer to residential neighborhoods,” said Joe DeBold, urban wildlife biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation in the Kansas City Region.
“A lot of people are reporting seeing them now in their front yards, eating the grass and their flowers.”
But there are reports of deer, especially further west, actually becoming more aggressive.
In a recent story in the New York Times, people in Helena, Mont., report that deer there have completely lost their fear of humans.
There have been incidents of deer chasing newspaper boys, jumping on the roof of houses, and even terrorizing dogs.
“It’s a dangerous situation waiting to happen,” one resident was quoted in the Times article. “I heard a yipping (one night) and I saw a ball of fur bouncing up and down.”
He then went on to describe how a deer had attacked a neighbor’s dog.
“A female deer had Rikki in her mouth, tearing at her with her hooves.”
Rikki, I am happy to report, survived but now the Helena Police Department has begun a program intended to trap deer and either relocate them into the wild or to the local meat market.
Fawns are being released, adult deer donated to the needy.
In the Kansas City Metro area, the Conservation Department is allowing certain citizens to hunt their own property to help reduce the urban deer population.
DeBold administers the program, and although he has not had any reports like the ones coming out of Montana, he does caution people to be wary of deer, especially this time of year.
“They can have behavior shifts,” he said. “Bucks do become very aggressive. They can charge a human. And does can become aggressive, especially if they’re rearing young. But so far, thankfully there have been no reports of overly aggressive deer behavior in Kansas City.”
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Hopefully most of us who live in this urban setting are aware that in the fall that we have to be especially mindful of deer dashing and darting onto the roadways.
Bucks are especially adventurous this time of year because of the so-called rut or mating season. They completely abandon their sense of self preservation in pursuit of does.
Keep in mind that when you see deer crossing signs along the road, they’ve been put up for a purpose.
Unfortunately, recent studies as cited in Tom Vanderbilt’s current best seller, “Traffic,” indicate that people really don’t heed the signs.
But as someone who has had one of those unfortunate car/deer collisions, I can tell you firsthand that it can happen in a flash and oftentimes in areas where the signs are.
Of course, it is not happenstance that the fall deer seasons in Missouri coincide with the rut. Deer are just simply more active – and aggressive right now.
“Maybe not so much aggressive, but becoming more and more visible and closer to residential neighborhoods,” said Joe DeBold, urban wildlife biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation in the Kansas City Region.
“A lot of people are reporting seeing them now in their front yards, eating the grass and their flowers.”
But there are reports of deer, especially further west, actually becoming more aggressive.
In a recent story in the New York Times, people in Helena, Mont., report that deer there have completely lost their fear of humans.
There have been incidents of deer chasing newspaper boys, jumping on the roof of houses, and even terrorizing dogs.
“It’s a dangerous situation waiting to happen,” one resident was quoted in the Times article. “I heard a yipping (one night) and I saw a ball of fur bouncing up and down.”
He then went on to describe how a deer had attacked a neighbor’s dog.
“A female deer had Rikki in her mouth, tearing at her with her hooves.”
Rikki, I am happy to report, survived but now the Helena Police Department has begun a program intended to trap deer and either relocate them into the wild or to the local meat market.
Fawns are being released, adult deer donated to the needy.
In the Kansas City Metro area, the Conservation Department is allowing certain citizens to hunt their own property to help reduce the urban deer population.
DeBold administers the program, and although he has not had any reports like the ones coming out of Montana, he does caution people to be wary of deer, especially this time of year.
“They can have behavior shifts,” he said. “Bucks do become very aggressive. They can charge a human. And does can become aggressive, especially if they’re rearing young. But so far, thankfully there have been no reports of overly aggressive deer behavior in Kansas City.”
