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Sunday, September 28, 2014

Domesticated Deer

During the drive up to the Upper Works trail head this past Friday afternoon our car passed through the town of Old Forge. As we approached the town center one of the group members made a comment about how many deer there are and how friendly they are towards humans. I was a bit skeptical but about five minutes later I saw a group of tourists feeding deer about 3 feet off of the main road. It was a very jarring sight because the deer were just walking around like domesticated animals. These deer not only showed no fear of humans but also approached them in search of an easy meal. This spectacle reminded me of the fact that deer are the leading killer of humans in the park due to automobile accidents. In many cases deer will approach cars that have the windows down in search of food.
         
        "Motorists often stop in the road, pull over onto private property, or stop in areas where stopping is not allowed. This can create a dangerous traffic hazard. Deer who become used to eating alongside the road also put themselves and motorists in danger."

Humans have created a need/behavior in the deer that did not exist before hand and in response to this problem feeding deer has been illegal in New York State since 2005. Before that it was legal if done beyond 300ft of a road but now many people receive tickets and fines for their actions. We have conditioned them to ignore many of their natural instincts and now in Old Forge village there is a higher concentration of deer in residential areas than in the woods due to the easy access to food. For the most part locals recognize the dangers and problems with feeding the deer but many tourists see it as endearing (no pun intended). Unfortunately when those tourists leave the area many deer don't know what to do. This causes issues for the human residents as well as the deer because without handouts the gardens are the next logical target. This issue brings into question not only how we should interact with the wildlife around these communities but also how much control the local residents have over the actions of tourists during their stays. 

Source article: http://adirondackexpress.com/News/08232011_deerfeeding














                       Video of deer feeding in Old Forge

1 comment:

  1. I have had similar experiences with deer in Southern New York. The apple orchards around where I live sell their lower quality apples off in bulk because people buy them as "deer apples." My understanding is that they leave piles of apples around on their property for the enjoyment of the deer, which, while not that much different in concept from bird feeders, is inhumane and I now know is illegal.

    Deer are so prevalent that garden plants must be downright disgusting for the deer to leave them alone: so-called deer resistant plants rarely hold up for very long. Often the deer will run out of food by midwinter and will die in the street (and it takes quite a lot of complaining to get rid of the carcasses). Feeding the birds, and, more often than not, squirrels, occurs more widely and therefore presents a more reliable source of food. Feeding the deer only increases the size of a population leading to increased starvation the next winter. The deer carcasses also present a health risk to people and their curious dogs.

    Really, population control would be much more humane than letting the deer starve, but good luck convincing the people who buy them apples!

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