Deer In The Road

[Eden]

Squirrels, now, are the ones that I think are truly stupid. I ran over one with my bike once because it scampered to one side of the trail, then changed it's mind and decided that it wanted to go back to the other side just as I was passing it.

My husband and I have a theory about this..... we think that they first run from you, then the urge to get to the nearest tree or maybe even "their" tree kicks in and they run to it even if it means crossing your path again...

[newfsmith]

I guess the deer on my former commute (I retired in June, yay me) were unusually smart. I saw lots of deer, when my commutes coincided with dawn or dusk I would see as many a 13 on an 8.5 mi ride. They would stand at the side of the road and watch me. I always figured it was because they were in a wildlife sanctuary and their only real predators were cars, so they were vehicle aware. Too bad some of the drivers on my route weren't as smart. I always gave the dumb prize to the turkeys. They wouldn't move for anything and it wasn't unusual to see 5 or 6 cars waiting for the turkeys to get out of the road. Someday I would like to ride in a bicycle preserve.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

We have TONS of deer here.
When I actually SEE a deer in the road or crossing the road, i'm glad because then I can slow down right away and I also know there may be others following it.
It's the deer I DON'T see that worry me. The ones that suddenly come bounding out of the woods a few yards in front of me and leaping right across my path as I'm going 25 mph along a country road.
I know that one day one I am likely to collide with one of these deer ambushes, and it won't be pretty.

This is what happened tome in my car....twice. Deer leaping out from the woods and colliding right into the side of my car as I was driving 25 mph down wooded roads near my home.
Lots of damage- fender/sidepanel replacements, side headlights, passenger window shattered, hood replaced (as the deer bounced off my car side and then landed on the hood). I can only hope some deer doesn't do this to me on my bike.
So....be glad when you SEE the deer.

[rij73]

All I can say is that as crowded as it may get here in NYC, that is a problem that we definitely don't have!

[Mr. Bloom]

All I can say is that as crowded as it may get here in NYC, that is a problem that we definitely don't have!

[GLC1968]

Lone deer are one thing...be very aware of adults with fawns.

My dog was once attacked by a huge deer that had just given birth. I stood between my dog and the deer (before I knew why the deer was chasing my dog) and the deer came after me. Luckily, I was right in front of our deck, so I bounded up it and got inside. The deer then turned and left and I noticed blood on it's rear.

It was not 2 minutes later when we saw it through the trees nuzzling a tiny baby, barely standing and wet!

In that same neighborhood (where deer out numbered people about 10 to 1) I had other deer showing agression when their offspring were close. So I'd say deer have three thoughts "Is this good to eat" "Makin' babies" and "protect the young".

[grey]

There was a guy about three years ago here who was riding down the road and a deer ran through a barb wire fence, hit him, kept going - leaving the cyclist tangled in the barbed wire.

I think deer are as bright as squirrels. I've seen them dodge back and forth like them and everything - and they're a lot heavier than they look.

[LBTC]

You guys are funny!!! Unfortunately, I'm not.

All I have to add is - stupid or not, deer are known for having bad eyesight. Teenagers not so much.

Be careful out there.

H&B
~T~