There are predators ten minutes from most cities and that deer could be as young as 6 mos. to a year!! The average life span of a deer in the wild is 1 1/2— 2 1/2 yrs. Hunters take very few deer...the season is only 1 to 2 mo. Most deer succumb to predators or weather mostly cold weather even given that the deer population has never been as high as it is right now. It is rare that I go out and not see deer on the side of the road.