"DEER ANGEL"

The more I researched and tried to come up with a solution to remove the poor dear across from the house the more I learned some interesting facts. See below. I also realized that even if I was willing to go touch the thing to move it into the ditch I would likely not be strong enough to drag it. Nick is in no position to help as he is having some major back issues at the moment. So what to do. . . Saturday we took a little trip to an apple orchard (despite the very cool, wet and windy day). I will share more on that little excursion in a different post. We were gone for maybe 5 hrs. When we left the deer was still sleeping peacefully across the street. Upon our return I looked, and looked and triple looked. It was GONE! I looked in the ditch all along the area and NO DEER! I’m so happy for whoever the DEER ANGEL was that came and removed it. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!! That made my day!

So here are some interesting tidbits (or I thought they were) I have learned over this past week.

Last year (2007), there were 61,907 reported car-deer crashes in Michigan, up from 60,875 reported the previous year. However, as many as half of all car-deer crashes may not be reported, so actual numbers may be much higher. Last year, 11 motorists lost their lives in car crashes, while another 1,614 persons were injured. In 2006, 12 motorists were killed and 1,676 were injured in similar crashes.

Just for the sake of comparison, in Utah between 1996 – 2001 there were a total of 13,020 deer related collisions.

According to State Farm's claim statistics, we have lived in two of the top three states with the most deer crashes. In order they are: (taken from information between June 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006)

1. Pennsylvania
2. Michigan
3. Illinois

80 percent of all car-deer crashes occur on two-lane roads between dusk and dawn. Actually I knew this one. You do train yourself to look well ahead and for those glowing deer eyes reflecting off the headlights, especially if you are out at these times. One of the crossroads nearest us is Deerfield. There is a reason it is named this!

Michigan has a 1.75 million-strong deer herd. The population of residents is well over 10 million. So we still outnumber the deer but that is an amazing number.

About 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions happen each year in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Those accidents cause about 150 deaths and $1.1 billion in property damage annually, according to NHTSA (who by the way Nick interviewed with at the same time he interviewed for his current position).

So 1.1 Billion a year! SO here is the question of the day. How many hungry people could be fed from all the deer that are hit? Not that I would want to eat it (although some deer meat isn’t too bad) nor do I think it would be realistic to retrieve all of them without other costs. But thinking of the current economic conditions it just makes me think. I did learn that the neighboring county accepts and appears to help pick up deer (within a 50 mile radius) as long as they are gutted first. They have an agency who then processes the meat, packages it for the freezer and is stored to give to families needing help from the food pantry. I actually called and talked with them. They said that they receive a lot of protein that is not perishable such as peanut butter or beans. So the deer donations have been greatly appreciated as they were able to give meat to many families who "rarely have any".