Nowadays I don’t have to go far to see white-tailed deer in southwestern Pennsylvania. The deer population in Schenley Park has grown by leaps and bounds since I first noticed them a decade ago.
When I don’t see the animals, I see their evidence. In July, they eat so much jewelweed that it looks like the trail edges were weed-whacked.
In winter they eat shrubs like this arborvitae on Schenley Golf Course until there’s no green near the ground.
And they eat small trees. More than a year ago they ate the leader shoot of this hackberry seedling. The next year two branches sprouted to compensate and the deer ate those. And on and on and on. The tree grows old but never tall.
These signs of deer damage indicate their over-population in Schenley Park but the scariest sign is the growing number of deer crossing the road.
Last week I saw an 8-point buck ambling across Greenfield Road while pedestrians stopped and stared. He was majestic and he was lucky. No cars were coming.
Last June a deer leapt over a guard rail in Indiana County and landed on the hood of Marcy Cunkelman’s car. She couldn’t see it coming and she couldn’t see to drive after it crumpled the hood. The deer didn’t survive the accident but Marcy and her family were fortunate. They were fine and the airbags didn’t deploy.
That happened in June when deer are less distracted than they are in autumn. This month there’s a much higher chance of hitting a deer because they’re on the move and they aren’t paying attention. It’s mating season.
Pennsylvania is the #3 state for vehicle-deer insurance claims. According to State Farm’s annual report, there were more than 142,000 vehicle-deer collisions in Pennsylvania from June 2016 to June 2017. On an annual basis we have a 1 in 63 chance of a hitting a deer but during mating season that likelihood more than doubles … to maybe 1 in 30. Yikes!
So stay alert! Watch out for deer, especially at dusk. Click here for State Farm’s tips on what to do. … And good luck.
p.s. Wear blaze orange if you’re going into Pennsylvania’s woods, especially during PA’s deer (rifle) season, Monday Nov 27 through Dec 9, 2017. Click here for PGC details on antlered/antlerless dates and locations.
(deer and plant photos by Kate St. John. Car damage photo by Marcy Cunkelman)
Last Friday night I saw at least 8 deer in Schenley Park spread out in three different locations along Schenley Drive when I was going home around 11 pm. They were in the road and on the roadside. It’s very difficult to see them in the light at night at this time of year – they look a lot like grey shadows. I think the deer situation in Squirrel Hill is probably as bad in terms of numbers as that in Mt Lebanon – but I don’t hear any public officials talking about it as a public health/public safety issue.
I live in rural Washington County, so I am dodging deer daily on my commute, even in my driveway. Last year I had quite a scare driving to work in the morning, in daylight. A doe being chased by a buck burst out of the bushes on the right hand side of the road, running full speed, between me and a car coming the other way. I managed to stop before hitting them, and the car coming the other way swerved toward me to miss hitting them as they exited the road into the field on the other side, and luckily managed to stop before hitting me. That’ll wake you up.
About 5 years ago, we hit a deer at night on I-79 in Mercer County. We didn’t see it until it was right in front of the car, and literally tore it in half. Our airbags did not deploy either. I don’t think a deer weighs enough to cause the airbags to deploy. If you live in PA and drive a fair amount, I don’t think you can get through your life without hitting deer.
My cousin who lives in Chester County in SE PA managed to hit not 1, but 2 deer in a relatively short period of time and not long after getting her drivers licence if I recall correctly.
One time while my mom was driving me back to college on I-79 a deer ran out across the northbound lanes right in front of her car, across the median, and into the southbound lanes before getting hit by a vehicle and flying in the air.
Airbags – from what I understand the triggering mechanism for airbags is in the front of the car (in the bumper). It would not deploy in case of a crash elsewhere on the vehicle.
That said, I hit a deer once, on the front of my car. The impact did nothing to the bumper, grille, hood or fenders, but inside, it broke the bolts holding the radiator. No damage visible from the outside, but the radiator was hanging by one bolt.
The airbags did not deploy.
If the whitetails are eating Arborvitae, they’re getting desperate because that’s not a nutritious food source for deer. If they start eating rhododendron, that’s worse, because it’s nothing but a stomach filler.
I used to have a book (one of his many on whitetails) by noted expert and photographer Leonard Lee Rue III. His work is a great resource on deer behavior and management.