Why do deer end up getting hit by cars so often?

Question

I am interested in this from the deer's perspective and not the drivers'. Are the deer just stupid? Suicidal?

Answer 1

A couple of reasons:

* The edges of many roads have tall grass and other vegetation that deer like to eat, so they are drawn to roads
* deer are constantly moving among different areas, and they use roads as travel corridors
* deer escape natural predators by zigzagging--this works great for escaping coyotes and wolves, but with cars traveling in a straight line, it causes the deer to run into the cars
* most deer collisions occur at night--deer have very good night vision which makes them sensitive to light, so they are temporarily blinded by headlights, which draws them back to the roads because they can't see in the brush

Answer 2

Deer Hit By Cars

Answer 3

In my state, you contact the local highway patrol and they come issue a tag for the animal after they write the police report. At that point, you can either butcher the animal yourself, or you can take it to a game processor and have them do it for you. It's perfectly safe, so long as the deer's digestive tract is intact and you follow all the normal procedures for ensuring that the meat does not become tainted. You're not required to do so, though. You could leave the deer where it lies, and scavengers will have a nice meal. While I would balk at all that tasty venison being left for buzzards and coyotes and maggots, there's nothing inherently wrong with ensuring that decomposers are fed. That's a judgement call you'll have to make, and if the deer's digestive tract were damaged, I'd probably try my best to get what meat I could, then leave anything that may be tainted.

Answer 4

Deer are not used to 55 MPH objects coming directly at them. It's not in their evolution to know what a car is. Same reason why you see squashed squirrels, rabbits, skunks, and opossums.

Answer 5

I hit one in Ca at about 11 am -- it ran right in front of me and no way to slow enough to miss it completely, swerved and got it in the rear, it kept going. Hit one in ID jumped in front of me on a curve it was early AM. It too kept going. Hit another in ID late at night and it went over the top of my car and got up and kept going. I have had them stand in the road at night and stare at me even as I sneeked closer in the car and even honking at them they just stared until they ambled off. What causes it, no idea.

Answer 6

deers are not stupid and sometimes go out in to the road hunting for food or water and sometimes can not get out of the way fast enough and at night they are blinded from cars headlights.. it is sad when they get hit..

Answer 7

Suicidal bast****!!! They just don't know what to do when an object at high velocity is coming straight towards them.

Answer 8

like squirrels they get hypnotized by the car motor and or the headlights