By NANCY JANE KERN
A DOE AND HER FAWN shot across the lawn in apparent terror. Some seconds later a wild-eyed eight-point buck bounded through in pursuit. There had been nights of expected lower temperatures and our whitetail deer season of fall mating called the rut had begun. This buck’s antlers were hardened and cleaned of the blood-filled, nourishing velvet that enabled the antlers to grow. A deer can attain a speed of 30 mph with 10-foot leaps which is twice as fast as a human’s maximum speed of about 15 mph. Amazingly, some deer have been clocked at 60 mph! Deer are fast and easily whirl and change direction. A doe’s estrus onset is also temperature triggered and her accompanied “perfume” (a disgusting smell to humans) drives the males wild. This doe had a great attraction. The fawns spend the summer learning from their mothers and blindly follow them until they can get out of the way or hide. A doe’s gestation period is 200 days and this doe, if bred now, would deliver in early April 2024. Normally the delivery is in May and June which is a much better time for a fawn’s survival.
Bucks are fighting for territories during the rut and the bigger, stronger or faster fellows win the choice spots. Rarely bucks may lock horns and die of starvation or predator attack. People have been seriously harmed trying to free the bucks so call the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for help. This includes deer tangled in fencing, trapped in swimming pools and wounded deer.
Our most common deer threat is vehicle-deer hits. According to DEC, there are 70,000 vehicle-deer collisions in New York per year. If you hit a deer, it must be reported to law enforcement. People may not do this, so the collision estimate is much higher.
There are a million plus deer in our State and over 12 million licensed drivers. The greatest deer-vehicle collisions occur from October through December during the annual deer rut. It is the season for us to be very vigilant while driving, particularly during the early morning and 4-9 p.m. hours. If we slow down and stay alert, it could save the deer and our lives. Deer can be thrown through the windshield and may thrash around injuring the passengers and driver.
The usual vehicle repair cost is $4,000. Trying to avoid a deer can be worse, resulting in hitting a tree or rolling over an embankment. Please be safe and support hunting which reduces the NY deer population by 250,000 per year. Your insurance company will thank you too.
