Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Got Deer?

It's no secret that we have plenty of deer in our neighborhood. It's one of the nice things about living in a rural neighborhood. Our neighbors have horses, I can hear cows mooing when I stand outside early in the morning and we often see deer in our front yard.

Luckily we have a 6-foot privacy fence around our backyard where the garden is so we don't have to worry about adding deer to the list of possible culprits for our ever-so-prevalent gardening demise.

I woke up yesterday morning to find these out front crossing the street to our yard.




They ended up right outside our front door, which irritates the dog to no end. I read that there are over 700,000 deer statewide, but that in the 1930s there were only about 20,000 deer since so many were killed off in an effort to eradicate tick-borne diseases. The Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission responded to this by purchasing deer from various sources-- including a game farm in Wisconsin--and transplanting them to unoccupied areas in Florida. I wonder what the Wisconsin deer thought of our oppressive heat, humidity, gators and panthers?

They're pretty things though...

6 comments:

Jeff Vandiver said...

Oh god, kill 'em! Heh. Haven't done that in a while, and couldn't pass up the opportunity. They are beautiful creatures, and I don't see how anyone can hunt them.

Stefaneener said...

They are exquisitely beautiful.

On the other hand, if they aren't predated enough, they die of starvation in many places, plus they eat a lot of gardens and cause many accidents.

Responsible hunting seems to be the only option.

donna said...

These are really nice photos of the deer in your neighborhood. I think the deer that moved from WI to FL are very happy in the winter. They have a tough time of it here with all the snow and cold.

Sue said...

I know this sounds stupid, but I really had no idea that you had deer in Florida. That sounds wrong!

Erin said...

Great pics! Up in WI, (I'm from up in that region) they have managed hunts where bag limits are waived, etc to prevent overpopulation and disease spread among the deer. Apparently relocation is another one of their tactics, lol! It looks like your leaves are turning down there, I always wondered if you had fall colors in FL!

Kate and Crew said...

Awww...EG...thanks for recommending I kill another animal - LOL. Life wouldn't be right without an "Oh God Kill it" comment from EG - LOLOLOLOLOL.


Sue - it doesn't sound stupid to me at all. Most people think of Florida as beaches and sand and don't realize we have a ton of wilderness area smack dab in the middle of the state!

There were about twice the number of deer out front this morning, but it was too dark to photograph. I still enjoy seeing them and we've lived in this house almost 9 years.

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