We Need a Suicide Hotline for Deer

RJM62

RJM62

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Geek on the Hill
What is it that compels deer to run into the paths of moving vehicles? Are they stupid? Depressed? Looking for the insurance angle?

This one got up and ran off into the woods. I don't know how badly he was injured. Damage to the car was minor, all things considered. (Hey Mike, do you have one of these?)

-Rich
 

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RJM62 said:
What is it that compels deer to run into the paths of moving vehicles? Are they stupid? Depressed? Looking for the insurance angle?

This one got up and ran off into the woods. I don't know how badly he was injured. Damage to the car was minor, all things considered. (Hey Mike, do you have one of these?)

-Rich
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This time of year deer are thinking with their little head instead of the big one.

Human males have been known to succumb to the same penile neurological inversion problem at times.
 
Deer season opened here today. For the next two weeks most sane Missourians stay indoors whilst the drunk (or hungover) guys with guns roam the woods.

To each his own but that's not my idea of fun.
 
timwinters said:
Deer season opened here today. For the next two weeks most sane Missourians stay indoors whilst the drunk (or hungover) guys with guns roam the woods.

To each his own but that's not my idea of fun.
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My theory is he was trying to get into the car with me and make a getaway. I had the window open. Had I not screeched to a halt he would have been in the front seat with me.

-Rich
 
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timwinters said:
Deer season opened here today. For the next two weeks most sane Missourians stay indoors whilst the drunk (or hungover) guys with guns roam the woods.

To each his own but that's not my idea of fun.
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In Wisconsin we are in bow season for deer. No problem with that. But deer gun season is Thanksgiving week. Many of us avoid public lands during that time as well. Too many amateurs pulling out their rifles for the first time in the year.
 
nddons said:
This time of year deer are thinking with their little head instead of the big one.

Human males have been known to succumb to the same penile neurological inversion problem at times.
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I think that's Springtime. Right now they just have the munchies.

And God gave us two heads, but only sufficient blood supply to operate one at a time.
 
You need to take those deer crossing signs down. It's not safe for them to cross there.

(Deer can't read, but they can recognize the little pictures of themselves).
 
I was searching for the restaurant we were gonna meet at on the GPS while driving slowly on the back roads. It occurred to me that I wasn't concentrating on the big picture and there could be deer back here.

I follow the curve in the road and there's a deer that just cleared crossing the road. :hairraise:
 
flyingron said:
You need to take those deer crossing signs down. It's not safe for them to cross there.

(Deer can't read, but they can recognize the little pictures of themselves).
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I stick little red noses on them. It confuses them.

-Rich
 
Geico266 said:
I hit a deer about 3 months ago. Did $7000 damage to my truck. :mad:
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Ouch!

In my case, there's a salvage guy in the next county over from me who has the fender for $100.00 (in the right color, even!), according to the interwebz. If it's the guy I'm thinking of, he sometimes knocks a few shekels off for cash.

Replacing the fender's about an hour's work. I don't think there's any other damage. I'll look more closely tomorrow.

-Rich
 
nddons said:
In Wisconsin we are in bow season for deer. No problem with that. But deer gun season is Thanksgiving week. Many of us avoid public lands during that time as well. Too many amateurs pulling out their rifles for the first time in the year.
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I have my best luck on public lands, Kettle Moraine North being my preferred area. The number of hunters there is going down every year. I was out scouting my spot this morning. But you do sometimes hear the amateurs going nuts. Why do you need 6 shots to put down a deer? I used 2 last year. First shot (shotgun, both lungs) he went 30 yards and dropped 20 feet from me. I only used the 2nd shot up close so he wouldn't suffer longer.
 
On our trip south we missed a deer by inches. we were up hill on Sisku pass, we were center lane, going pass the truck traffic about 40 miles faster than they were in the right hand lane when we see a 200 pound muley doe jump the center divider out of the north bound lands and into the left hand south bound lane. I hit the air horn, and she did a "U" turn and missed us, but the guy passing us was hard on his brakes, I don't know if he missed her or not, but we never saw him again.
 
Timely topic. My oldest son bagged his first deer this morning! Very proud dad took the photo! BTW, before anyone pounces for hammer being back, Dylan didn't load his rifle until he was ensconced in his stand, and unloaded it before climbing down after taking his buck. He also verified (as I watched) that it was not loaded for this picture.
 

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Years ago I had a deer run into the side of my car. No damage to the front of the car at all - he killed himself running into the side. It was either suicide, he needed glasses, or a case of "controlled flight into terrain vehicle."
 
timwinters said:
For the next two weeks most sane Missourians stay indoors whilst the drunk (or hungover) guys with guns roam the woods.
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If they are drunk or hung over while "hunting" I don't think they deserve to be called "hunters", call them what they are "alcoholics".

Real hunters don't hunt drunk, high or hung over.
 
RJM62 said:
We Need a Suicide Hotline for Deer

What is it that compels deer to run into the paths of moving vehicles? Are they stupid? Depressed? Looking for the insurance angle?

This one got up and ran off into the woods. I don't know how badly he was injured. Damage to the car was minor, all things considered. (Hey Mike, do you have one of these?)

-Rich
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The suicide hotline for deer, should be manned by local "hunting" lodges/clubs with scripts to talk deer out of running into the pathway of cars. Instead suicidal deer should be talked into going to hunting lodges/clubs.

That would:


  • Help take care of suicidal deer.


  • It would also help keep alcoholics and drug addict that call themselves "hunters" out of the woods. It would help keep the drunks with guns in range of each other so they're more likely to shoot each other instead of the public.

It would help reduce the number of suicidal deer and the number of drunks trying to pass themselves off as hunters.
 
No Joy said:
If they are drunk or hung over while "hunting" I don't think they deserve to be called "hunters", call them what they are "alcoholics".

Real hunters don't hunt drunk, high or hung over.
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I certainly won't argue that point. It seems there are very few "real hunters" in the heartland however. "Deer camp" is the biggest party of the year for many. 2 to 4 days of non-stop party.
 
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timwinters said:
I certainly won't argue that point. It seems there are very few "real hunters" in the heartland however. "Deer camp" is the biggest party of the year for many. 2 to 4 days of non-stop party.
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We get those guys here, too. They arrive from downstate in motorized divisions, all dressed like Nanook of the North (in 50-degree weather), set up camps the size of an Army battalion and with enough firepower to invade a small nation, and build bonfires that scare away every deer within 10 miles. Then they get drunk and hopefully pass out before they hurt anyone.

-Rich
 
No Joy said:
If they are drunk or hung over while "hunting" I don't think they deserve to be called "hunters", call them what they are "alcoholics".

Real hunters don't hunt drunk, high or hung over.
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Nope. Hunters have EARNED their reputation. Admitting you have a problem is the first step. The jig is up, no more of this "a few bad apples" BS. Hunters are a group that I have disassociated myself with. I know hundreds of hunters, I only know two who ill go hunting with.
 
Bambi nailed the entire passenger side of my car going 65 on the interstate last Tuesday evening: $6200.00 in damage. Lucky I got pictures of the deer hairs stuck in various places the next morning, the insurance companies have been known to question the "real" cause of damage without that evidence. Fifth time across three different vehicles that deer have hit me. Body shop sez this time of year and in the spring around here, they get 3 to 5 deer hit jobs a week. They are pretty dumb: bunch of them will stand on my property even in broad daylight and stare at us on the deck and not move, they have no more fear of humans, eat our veggies, bushes and flowers, but run headlong to their death into cars on any given road around here.
 
Geico266 said:
I hit a deer about 3 months ago. Did $7000 damage to my truck. :mad:
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You need to practice more! I hit two in one day, one on the way to work, one on the way home. I only had to replace the plastic front grill for 84 dollars. (15 years ago) The second deer hit in the same spot and didn't even break anymore plastic.
 
I had one jump over my car left to right while I was going about 65. I hit his right hindleg with the right upper corner of the windshield. The glass didn't break, but it left a dent in the aluminum molding and roof. Car got hailed on the next summer and the shop re-did the area along with the $2700 worth of dimples they were pushing out.
 
I've had a couple of Deer encountered. Three times they've run into the side of my car. One time it was huge and the head ended up right in front of me on the hood and the antlers cracked my windshield. There was bits of fur in the crack and deer snot all over the place. The other time it just knocked some trim off my car.

I also had one run under the rear wheels of my truck once.

My wife considers the only good deer, a dead one, spending a significant effort keeping them from eating the landscaping.
 
I see deer all the time here in every season; next to the road, on the road, grazing in my yard, sleeping under my bushes...

Luckily I've never hit one hard in the car although I've tapped a couple. Nothing that did damage though, although the deer might have gotten a bruise or two.
 
I'm not a hunter, but all for deer hunters doing their best to thin the herd.

An old statistic is that in the counties in the bottom third of Illinois, in one year there were 325 single car accidents -- 287 of them hitting deer.

A deer ran into the side of my dad's pickup truck. Dented the door, and the deer -- a buck -- stood there looking dazed. Dad jumped out, grabbed a rock and grabbed the buck around the neck and began hitting him in the head. Killed him. (It was deer season.)
 
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DutchessFlier said:
Bambi nailed the entire passenger side of my car going 65 on the interstate last Tuesday evening: $6200.00 in damage. Lucky I got pictures of the deer hairs stuck in various places the next morning, the insurance companies have been known to question the "real" cause of damage without that evidence. Fifth time across three different vehicles that deer have hit me. Body shop sez this time of year and in the spring around here, they get 3 to 5 deer hit jobs a week. They are pretty dumb: bunch of them will stand on my property even in broad daylight and stare at us on the deck and not move, they have no more fear of humans, eat our veggies, bushes and flowers, but run headlong to their death into cars on any given road around here.
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You really have to wonder what tortuous twist along the path of evolution invested deer with the instinct to run full-bore into moving vehicles. If they think the vehicle is a threat (it makes noise, has two "eyes," and usually has "teeth" on the grill), shouldn't they be running away from it, not into it?

Also, deer tend to travel in groups. After seeing the less-than-wonderful outcomes that result from their buddies leaping in the paths of moving vehicles, shouldn't they kind of learn that that's not a smart thing to do? And shouldn't they get the message that roads in general are not deer-friendly places?

There are other animals that meet their deaths on the roads, but usually it's either because they are too slow to get out of the way (as in the cases of possums and skunks), or they're already on the road and get confused trying to decide which way to run to avoid the danger (squirrels, rabbits, etc.). But deer deliberately run toward the danger when they're already in a safe place.

I know that fawns are not afraid of humans until their mothers teach them to be. There's a sort of warbling, snorting sound that they make to impart to their young that something in their environment is dangerous, and the young avoid that thing from that point on. So a deer's fear response is learned, and probably there's even some generalization going on. "Avoid things that move, make noise, and have forward-facing eyes."

Like... cars, for example?

I just don't get it. They're beyond dumb.

-Rich
 
This is how stupid deer are around here. This one didn't even notice me walk up behind it today. It was too busy watching two guys playing with their RC cars. I am anything but stealthy, especially when walking on a dirt road.

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tinerj said:
A deer ran into the side of my dad's pickup truck. Dented the door, and the deer -- a buck -- stood there looking dazed. Dad jumped out, grabbed a rock and grabbed the buck around the neck and began hitting him in the head. Killed him. (It was deer season.)
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The other day I saw two of our local bubbas loading up a nice buck that had been run over into the back of their pickup. I am sure there will be heroic stories how they stalked it and killed it with their superior archery skills :lol: .
 
I have bagged many o' deer, but the one I got with a 172 in West Virgina is the best! :)
 
RJM62 said:
Ouch!

In my case, there's a salvage guy in the next county over from me who has the fender for $100.00 (in the right color, even!), according to the interwebz. If it's the guy I'm thinking of, he sometimes knocks a few shekels off for cash.

Replacing the fender's about an hour's work. I don't think there's any other damage. I'll look more closely tomorrow.

-Rich
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Easy body work is one of the reasons I bought a Saturn, after an almost exact copy of your strike with my Escort turned into a $3k insurance bill in 1991. Lucky strike on the color!
 
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catmandu said:
Easy body work is one of the reasons I bought a Saturn, after an almost exact copy of your strike with my Escort turned into a $3k insurance bill in 1991. Lucky strike on the color!
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Yeah, Saturns are pretty easy to work on in general, except for changing the blasted oil filter... grrr...

I've taken to using full-synthetic oil and a larger, high-mileage filter (actually, it's one made for a Ford, but the threads and the bypass are identical) just so I can reduce the oil change interval to twice a year and have something to grab on to when I have to change the filter.

The salvage guy just emailed me. I'll take a ride over there when I get my Monday morning stuff done.

-Rich
 
Had an experience with a deer on the bike last year.

I was heading north out of town at daybreak, tree lined two lane country road. I saw a brown flash in in my left peripheral vision and thought "this is going to hurt". POP! Hey, I'm still upright! I look in the rearview and see the contents of my left saddlebag tumbling down the road, and did a quick U-turn and found everything except for one shoe.

The deer hit the back of the bike hard enough to pop the saddlebag open but not hard enough to knock me down. Dodged the bullet that day.

I was travelling at a moderate pace, and it's funny to think about speed.
Faster, and it would have been a complete miss, slower and it would have been a direct broadside hit.

Hitting deer in cars? Yeah it sucks, but meh, I'll take it.
 
Anything that thins the herd that eats my wife's flowers is fine with me. Forest rats.
 
RJM62 said:
You really have to wonder what tortuous twist along the path of evolution invested deer with the instinct to run full-bore into moving vehicles. If they think the vehicle is a threat (it makes noise, has two "eyes," and usually has "teeth" on the grill), shouldn't they be running away from it, not into it?

Also, deer tend to travel in groups. After seeing the less-than-wonderful outcomes that result from their buddies leaping in the paths of moving vehicles, shouldn't they kind of learn that that's not a smart thing to do? And shouldn't they get the message that roads in general are not deer-friendly places?

There are other animals that meet their deaths on the roads, but usually it's either because they are too slow to get out of the way (as in the cases of possums and skunks), or they're already on the road and get confused trying to decide which way to run to avoid the danger (squirrels, rabbits, etc.). But deer deliberately run toward the danger when they're already in a safe place.

I know that fawns are not afraid of humans until their mothers teach them to be. There's a sort of warbling, snorting sound that they make to impart to their young that something in their environment is dangerous, and the young avoid that thing from that point on. So a deer's fear response is learned, and probably there's even some generalization going on. "Avoid things that move, make noise, and have forward-facing eyes."

Like... cars, for example?

I just don't get it. They're beyond dumb.

-Rich
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Deer do two things to try to avoid being eaten: They stand still until they think they are detected, and once they think they are detected and under threat, they run, since they are faster than their natural predators. Since it's easier to run in an open space than through the woods, they quite often take to whatever open space is available. This strategy has served them well in their 10 million or so years that they've been on this planet, and they haven't adapted to the concept of vehicular traffic since it's only been around for 120 years. Like most animals, they behave on instinct, not reasoning.

Small children will also run into traffic, would you consider them to be "beyond dumb" as well?
 
FormerHangie said:
Deer do two things to try to avoid being eaten: They stand still until they think they are detected, and once they think they are detected and under threat, they run, since they are faster than their natural predators. Since it's easier to run in an open space than through the woods, they quite often take to whatever open space is available. This strategy has served them well in their 10 million or so years that they've been on this planet, and they haven't adapted to the concept of vehicular traffic since it's only been around for 120 years. Like most animals, they behave on instinct, not reasoning.

Small children will also run into traffic, would you consider them to be "beyond dumb" as well?
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Good grief... now the deer have an anti-defamation lobby... :rolleyes:

-Rich
 
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