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A buck, photographed by an infrared camera at one of seven underpasses |
By MICHAEL ZITZ
If Capt. John Smith had taken Pocahontas out on a date in Jamestown on a fall evening in 1608, there's no way her father would have believed he got her home late because he hit a deer.
Today, however, Smith might be in more peril from deer than from Pocahontas' cranky dad, Chief Powhatan.
According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the state's deer population is believed to be about twice as large today as it was in Pocahontas' time--partly because deer like a suburban lifestyle.
There are now so many deer--and so many cars--in Virginia that the state ranked seventh in the nation in collisions with the animals from July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2005, according to State Farm Insurance Companies. Pennsylvania was No. 1.
The deer population in Virginia this fall is estimated at 950,000, compared to about 400,000 around the year 1600.
And the state's deer population is about 20 times as big as in the 1920s, around the time restrictions were imposed on hunting, said Nelson Lafon, an official with the game department's deer project in Verona.
In a typical year, two people are killed in crashes involving deer in Virginia, Lafon said.
Last year, there were 5,513 crashes involving deer in the state that were reported to police, including one fatality, the Virginia Department of Transportation reports. A total of 407 people were injured in collisions with deer last year in the state.
VDOT estimates that there were a staggering 34,000 deer-related crashes in the state last year, including cases not reported to authorities--5,000 in Fairfax County alone.
In many instances, drivers just leave the scene and report the damages to their insurer. In some cases, they take the deer with them for meat.
State Farm estimates that, nationally, 1.5 million vehicles collide with deer every year, resulting in 150 motorists deaths and $1.1 billion in vehicle damages.
A survey of state transportation departments found that the majority have installed some sort of wildlife crossing structures across their roadways. Of the 34 states that responded, 29 use culverts, 24 bridge extensions, 23 underpasses, and six overpasses.
VDOT has increased the cost of several construction projects by including safe wildlife passage beneath roadways. Based on a Virginia Tech study, VDOT is spending $1 million on a wildlife underpass on U.S. 17 project in Chesapeake, primarily to cut down on the number of deer collisions with vehicles.
Bridget Donaldson, a research scientist with the Virginia Transportation Research Council who is studying the wildlife-passage concept, says a typical deer-car collision causes $2,000 to $4,000 in damages.
Deer migration peaks from October into December during mating season. So there are a higher number of deer near roads this time of year.
"Northern Virginia is a hot pocket for deer population growth," LaFon said. "We have a hard time keeping a lid on it."
He said hunters kill about 200,000 deer a year in Virginia, which keeps the statewide population on an even keel.
Lafon said deer are an "edge species" that thrive in the space between forest and field. Suburban sprawl is actually good for them, providing refuge from hunters.
"Anything short of concrete and steel, deer can use," he said.
Lafon said concerns about hunters shooting game near homes makes suburbs safer for deer--and perhaps more dangerous for drivers.
Therefore, he said, the state began an urban archery program in 2002 to allow hunters to kill deer without endangering suburbanites.
He also said that decorative gardening around suburban homes "increases the palatability of their food" because deer have developed a taste for fertilized plants such as azaleas.
"Some people's plantings can become a smorgasbord for a deer," Lafon said. "And without natural predators in these areas, they can flourish."
He said the state hopes that underpasses, combined with fences used to funnel deer toward them, can reduce the number of accidents.
To avoid collisions, State Farm recommends that drivers use their high-beam headlights as much as possible to illuminate deer along the road. Studies show that car-mounted "deer whistles" do not work , State Farm said.
Jennifer McClure, a spokeswoman for People for Ethical Treatment for Animals in Norfolk, said the best way to avoid any accident is to slow down.
"On two-lane roads, drivers should slow down to 45 miles per hour or less under conditions of poor visibility even when higher speeds are permitted. Slowing down will substantially decrease the chance of an auto collision with a deer."
McClure said that when an animal is seen crossing the road, drivers should slow down and remain alert for others.
"Where there's one deer, there will be more," she said.
She said drivers should be particularly alert for wildlife on roads at dawn and at dusk.
Officials in Fairfax advise drivers who hit deer not to stomp on the brakes. That can cause the deer to go through the windshield. They say to ease up on the brake so the deer goes underneath the vehicle.
To reach MICHAEL ZITZ:
Email: mikez@freelancestar.com
