Why are deers suicidal? DH has hit 2 in 15 months!

[jodifla]

After a lovely dinner at a friend's house (with homemade tamales!) we drove home about 11:30 and a deer literally jumped out in front of us on the ride home.

We saw it on the side of the road, DH hit his breaks, and then the thing BOLTS in front of our car. We almost missed it...but still ending up hitting it. It was terrible. The deer fell to the road, then kept struggling to get up. We pulled over on a side street to call the police. They say it's been happening a lot here in our area of Michigan (a very populated area.)

They couldn't find the deer...so now we're afraid someone woke up to find a dead deer in their yard!

The funny thing is, right before we left, our host was just saying how stupid deer were and that they would jump right out in front of cars. ANd then, 20 minutes later, we watched a deer do just that!

Luckily, our son didn't see what happened. He thought we stopped for a red light.

And this is the 2nd time in 15 months a deer has dashed in front of our car. Last time there was much more damage. This time the grill is all busted up. I was VERY glad we were in the Buick Roadmaster stationwagon, and not my Honda, which would have been trashed.

So watch out in the Midwest....

 

[debster812]

It's not just in the Midwest, it's everywhere that suburban crawl has overtaken natural habitats.

We keep building, and building, and squeezing these animals out of places they'd normally just live.

We actually had 4 in our backyard this morning, which usually happens after it snows. We have some apparently tasty shrubs at the back of the house, that are easy for them to get to.

 

[Shmily1]

I know the feeling, kind of. I special ordered DD17 a Mustang. She had almost 3000 miles on it and some deer dogs ran one right into the front of her car! She never saw it until after it was hit and was flying through the air. It died instantly and landed two lanes over. The "nice" men that owned the dogs came out to the car and said "whatcha gonna do with that deer? Can we have it?" I am still furious with them!! They had to see that she was very upset and could use some help. After $6000 worth of repairs, it looks good as new!! Oh, it now has it's 3000 miles too.

 

[frisco]

We narrowly missed one last month. It was hit by 2 others and killed.

For the life of me I can't understand why high barriers aren't built along all major highways to keep deer from crossing the road. Not just for their safety, but for those of people driving. Going 65mph, it is impossible to avoid hitting one that runs in front of your car.

 

[JessicaR]

jodifla, sorry that happened! I'm glad your family is OK.

It's not just in the Midwest, it's everywhere that suburban crawl has overtaken natural habitats.

We keep building, and building, and squeezing these animals out of places they'd normally just live.
We actually had 4 in our backyard this morning, which usually happens after it snows. We have some apparently tasty shrubs at the back of the house, that are easy for them to get to.

So true! We have never had deer in our neighborhood and my husband has lived here for over 40 years. September we started seeing two in the early AM in our backyard. We live on a greenbelt and have lots of wildlife but never deer.

 

[mikehn]

Its still mating season and deer are most active at dark. So this is the time of year when most accidents happen. We cant even build a barrier on the Mexican border to keep out illegals much less a barrier to keep deer off the highway.

 

[Uuaww]

Deer aren't sucidal, and yes us impeding on their land has something to do with it.

The scientific reason is that bright lights cause deer to freeze and stay still.

Deer are the 2nd leading cause of death to humans in the United States for any animal. After mosquitos.

 

[jodifla]

Luckily we were only going about 35 mph, and DH was able to brake before hitting it. As I said, we ALMOST missed it altogether. And if the darn thing had stayed on the side of the road, car and deer would have been fine.

But this was in a VERY populated area. I had thought the mating season was over. How long does that run?

Geez I just feel so bad for that deer, too. It was awful seeing it try to get to its feet. Seeing the front end damage to our car, I just can't imagine any living being escaped alive.

 

[DeterminedOne]

About a month ago in our area five deer jumped off an overpass. Thankfully, no one was killed. A tractor trailer driver was injured but not seriously. Can you imagine driving down the interstate then all of a sudden it's raining deer? Crazy!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Deers are just crazy around here. They have legalized off season hunts in County parks during the off seasons to control the deer population around here. It doesn't work, BTW.

Any given time, you can see a dead deer on the road or one jumping out in front of you. We constantly see them in our backyard. Our even walking down our street.

I chuckled when we were at WDW last year and there was a family there making a huge deal when they sited a family of deer on the side of the road by one of the WDW resorts. My kids were like huh, Have they never seen a deer before? because we see them all the time.

 

[KPeterso]

I hit one not long after I turned 16. It was one of the worst experiences of my life, and I cannot look at a deer now without hyperventilating. I cannot even watch Bambi now. Good thing I got out of Chicago and to the west coast. Don't see them nearly as much or ever here. My deer dies instantly, thank goodness. When the cop arrived, his first question was if I had checked to see if it was dead. I can tell you if I had done that and it moved, I probably would have fallen over dead myself. I lived in a really small town in the suburbs and the police knew our family through church and school and they came to check on me several times over the next few days to make sure I was getting less freaked out and shaken up.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Hey, I wonder if those Deer Whistle things that you can put on your car miight actuall help???

I am not sure exactly where in MI you are..

But, my husband is originally from MI (Southern)
When we made a trip up there to the Lansing area back in June, in the mornings and evenings, you could practically see dear grazing out in all the fields like cattle.

There is an overpopulation...

Also, yes, you have heard the phrase "Like a deer caught in the headlights". It does seem to have an effect where it blinds them and frightens them. Then, they freak out and try to bolt, right at the wrong moment.

I am so sorry that this happened to you!
But, of course, I feel a little bit sorry for the poor deer too.

 

[LisaR]

It's not just in the Midwest, it's everywhere that suburban crawl has overtaken natural habitats.

We keep building, and building, and squeezing these animals out of places they'd normally just live.

We actually had 4 in our backyard this morning, which usually happens after it snows. We have some apparently tasty shrubs at the back of the house, that are easy for them to get to.

Quite true. In addition, in Michigan the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regularly feeds the deer so they can boost the population and bring in more dollars for deer hunting season. They turn around and say, "but we have to have deer hunting because the deer have overpopulated." Well, duh! Quit feeding them and they won't continue to overpopulate. While the idea of a deer starving to death is not pleasant, it is the circle of life and if the only reason you are feeding them is to shoot them later, I'll go with letting nature take care of things instead.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Well, the area of MI that we drove thru... there is no shortage of land/habitat...

It is not suburban-sprawl or big cities.

Same goes for the UP.

Miles and miles of habitat.

Plenty of room and feeding opportunities for lots of overpopulation!!!
No feeding necessary!!!

There are areas where there a miles and miles of human sprawl and overpopulation... But, that is not the case in most areas of the Midwest... It is not the completely overbuilt Northeast.

PS: My husband works for our States wildlife natural resources... In our state any baiting is very strictly prohibited.

 

[Ohiodislover]

We used to joke that you weren't part of the family until you hit a deer. I grew up in SW Ohio, and every single member of my family hit a deer on our road I swear they watched for our cars.

My aunt was about to hit one once. She managed to stop before hitting him. He didn't move though. He then fell over dead. Poor thing had a heart attack.

As for the whistle things. My family that still lives there have them. Don't know if they help, but it can't hurt.

 

[maelstrom]

This is how I totalled my Benz.

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

Just as an aside... I work for an auto insurance company and people get hit by deer (not the other way around) all the time. It's worse in the fall/winter because that is their mating season.

I've noticed in December everyone starts calling them "reindeer" instead of just "deer" which I find amusing/sad/scary/festive? all at the same time.

I'm glad you guys were all okay. They total cars, a lot. And often, they live.

 

[Planogirl]

I feel sorry for the deer and for those who hit them or get hit by them. It's so sad.

 

[Michelle67]

I don't know why they are...but they are! We have lots of deer around here, too. My ex-FIL hit three in one year --in the same Cadillac. Good thing they are seriously solid cars, at least the older Broughams like he had are. My ex bought him a license plate frame for it that said "Deerslayer" after the third one.

Do you have deer whistles? I need to get some for my new car. We had them on our other cars, but one got totaled (not by a deer ) and the other is now my daughter's car. They do work.

Alas, however, we have discovered that while they do work on deer, they do NOT work on wild horses. No we didn't hit them, but they didn't make any effort to get the heck off the road, either. Just stood there looking at us with 'tude.

 

[Scornelius]

When DH and I were driving through Pennsylvania is September, we were shocked by the number of deers we saw, both alive and at the side of the road. It was crazy. I'd never seen anything like it.

In Newfoundland, on average one person a week is killed in a collision with a moose. I don't even know if a Hummer would win against one of those bad boys. It's seriously like hitting a wall. At least with deer there's a good chance the car and driver will reign victorious!