On the move now, deer can be a danger to motorists

The Kansas City Star ^ | November 12, 2015 | David Boyce

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

One day in the first week of November, Pete Pringle and his brother, Luke, were talking about car accidents involving deer.

Pete and Luke work at Pringle Auto Body, 2720 S. 34th St., Kansas City, Kan. It is a family business started by their grandfather in 1968 and now is run by their mother.

It was natural for them to have a conversation on deer accidents this time of year. It’s when a higher percentage of collisions involving deer occur because it’s the breeding season for deer.

“We are getting into that season,” Pete Pringle said.

Bucks and does will be on the move in the breeding season far more than other times of the year, said Bill Graham, media specialist for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

“Another thing is the habitat that deer have been staying in all summer is changing,” Graham said. “The leaves fall off the trees, some of the vegetation is dying so some of their old hiding places and hangouts are changing. They are looking for new places.

“Also, their food sources are changing. All of that contributes to deer being on the move more this time of year.”

In the same week the Pringle brothers were talking about deer accidents involving cars, a 2011 Hyundai Elantra arrived at their auto body shop on Nov. 4.

The car was on Interstate 70 when it and the deer collided, causing significant damage to the front end of the passenger side.

The estimate to fix the damage, Pete said, was $6,600.

“It is on the cusp of being a totaled,” Pete said. “The car is new enough. It is nothing for a deer to cause $5,000, $6,000, $7,000 worth of damage to a car . . .

[TADSLOS]

They are always a road hazard in our neighborhood, especially now when rut is in high gear.

[Foundahardheadedwoman]

We have a lake and dam run by the Fed and each year during hunting season the deer head to the park where there is no hunting. Not unusual for the deer to wait by the dozens on the side of the road for traffic to pass so they can cross.

Sold a late model car to a guy and 2 weeks later he came back in and there was not a straight piece of bodywork on the car. It was totaled but due to the unibody the impact spread all over the car and no one was hurt. I liked hunting season it was good for the car business.

[Foundahardheadedwoman]

Never understood the compulsion to hang a deer’s head on your wall. I can understand the idea of hanging the heads of old girlfriends and ex-wives on the wall. But I understand the bag limit is very low. Unless you’re a Clinton.

[Georgia Girl 2]

The deer in our neighborhood are so tame they just graze in our next door neighbor’s corner lot and never run even when our Chihuahua makes a rush at them. Last night the Doe in question just stomped her foot and Coco screeched to a halt and backed up. The deer just went back to munching grass.

[Foundahardheadedwoman]

Look for a hard winter.

[Jamestown1630]

Is that a ‘sign’, like the stripes on wooly bears?

[nixonsnose]

they wear a fur coat all the time...

[Foundahardheadedwoman]

‘Is that a ‘sign’, like the stripes on wooly bears?’

Stripes on a wooly worm. Same idea with a long history of accuracy, meaning I made it up this afternoon. Look out for a cold one.

[Jamestown1630]

Here in Maryland we call them Woolly Bears. The Hagerstown Almanack used to run a contest:

http://www.almanack.com/woolly-bear-contest

I found an interesting article, though; ecologists have a theory called ‘predator satiation’:

http://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/woods-whys-acorns-weather