Hunting a Solution to the Bambi Boom

0 Comments | Insight on the News, July 3, 2000 | by Sean Paige

Viable science-based solutions often seem as illusive as political consensus. "Deer whistles" attached to car bumpers may give motorists peace of mind, but there is little evidence that deer ever hear them. "Tests showed that when someone blew the whistle, deer didn't even lift their heads," one state wildlife official tells Insight. Meanwhile, there are very few fences that agile deer can't crawl under, leap over or walk around. Trapping and removal is difficult, hard on the animals and only ends up transplanting the problem elsewhere. Some state highway departments are experimenting with reflectors that deflect headlights back into the woods, creating a visual barrier to deer. But hard evidence proving the efficacy of reflectors is lacking.

Deer contraceptives may be workable but only under certain circumstances. On the rolling, 457-acre Maryland campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, where an exploding herd of deer was causing headaches and raising safety concerns, the use of an organic deer contraceptive called PZP has led to a modest decrease in the size of NIST's deer herd. But because each doe requires two inoculations for the drug to be effective, plus an annual booster (administered by several NIST employees who have become skilled with a blowgun), the technique, being developed in conjunction with the Humane Society of the United States, is likely to have only limited applications in the nation as a whole.

Until scientists, policymakers, and warring interest groups stop squabbling among themselves and come to some consensus about how best to disarm the Bambi bomb, most public-safety advocates say that the best defense against a deer collision is a defensive driver. "People need to be mindful that a deer is not going to stop at the edge of the road and say, `Hey, there's a car, I've got to watch out,'" says one state wildlife official.

Here are some of the commonly recommended precautions motorists can take:

* Reduce speed and remain vigilant in areas known to have deer, especially during periods of high animal activity in the spring and fall;

* Slow down if a deer is seen along the road shoulder because deer travel in packs and react unpredictably to passing cars;

* Watch road shoulders closely, particularly at night and in the early morning hours, when deer are on the move. Deer also may be attracted to roads during early spring and late summer, experts say, when natural foods are in short supply, and after snows, when Northern roads have been turned into giant salt licks by road crews; and

* Take "deer crossing" road signs seriously because deer are creatures of habit and tend to get struck frequently in the same spots.

In short, be careful out there; the deer will get you if you don't watch out.