Deer Are Dangerous
Bambi's Relatives Are Killers
"Man killed by tiger at San Francisco Zoo." "Teenager mauled by shark off Hawaii beach." "Pit bull attacks neighbor." These types of incidents get massive media coverage but are very rare occurrences. Deer on the other hand don't get near the press, but are much more dangerous.
Deadliest animals to humans
If someone had asked you "What is the most dangerous creature you might encounter in the US, what would you answer? Without reading the title of this article, would you have guessed deer? I doubt it. Sharks? Snakes? Bees? Marc Siegel's comments are quite appropriate, "Media obsession not only misinforms but also diverts attention from the real danger."
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Here's a recent example from Science Daily: "The animals most commonly responsible for human fatalities are farm animals, insects (hornets, wasps, and bees) and dogs."
2 Note no mention of deer.
Here's a table listing animals most dangerous to humans
3. Again, no mention of deer.
Animals most dangerous to humans
| Animal |
Humans Killed Per Year |
|---|
| Mosquitoes |
1,000,000 |
| Snakes |
50,000 |
| Dogs |
25,000 |
| Tsetse flies |
10,000 |
| Scorpions |
3,250 |
| Crocodiles |
1,000 |
Here's what you may not have heard: Up to 1.5 million cars collide with deer annually in the United States, killing more than 200 Americans, causing approximately 10,000 injuries, and resulting in almost a billion dollars worth of damages. By these numbers, deer are roughly two hundred times deadlier than sharks.
4
While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) keeps annual figures for car-deer accidents, the figures lack a measure of exactness and certainty because there currently is not standardization in the reporting of deer-related accidents throughout the country, and because what constitutes a 'reportable accident' varies so much between states. Also, with a portion of drivers on the road uninsured, unlicensed or driving under the influence, many more deer collisions probably go unreported.
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Here are the top five states for claims from a collisions with deer, elk, moose or caribou in 2018.
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Top five states for claims from a collisions with deer, elk, moose or caribou in 2018
| Rank |
State |
2018 odds |
|---|
| 1 |
West Virginia |
1 in 46 |
| 2 |
Montana |
1 in 57 |
| 3 |
Pennsylvania |
1 in 63 |
| 4 |
Wisconsin |
1 in 72 |
| 5 |
Iowa |
1 in 73 |
In 2017, the total deer population in the United States was an estimated 33.5 million, down from 38.1 million in 2000. Yet even at their current population, deer are ravaging ecosystems across the country.
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Scientists estimate that when white people first arrived in Wisconsin, the northern forests of the state held four to eight deer per square mile. As a result of human intervention, there are now roughly 25 to 30 deer per square mile in parts of northern Wisconsin, and double that in some middle and southern countries. The same challenge extends to many other parts of the country.
In Virginia, state officials estimate that deer densities in Fairfax County parks, not far form Washington DC, have reached more than 100 animals per square mile. Scientists in New York and Pennsylvania have turned up ecological impacts from whitetails as well, prompting groups such as the Nature Conservancy to argue that high deer numbers may pose a greater threat to forests in the eastern United States than climate change.
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Deer devoured countless wildflowers close to extinction and devastated saplings of cedar, hemlock and oak. All of this eating, amounting to more than 2,000 pounds of plant matter per deer per year might account for widespread declines of North American songbird populations, which rely on many of the plants upon which deer gorged themselves.
Another issue is ticks that carry Lyme disease and a faster spread of threats such as chronic wasting disease (CWD) which attacks the nervous system of deer and causes them to lose weight and eventually die. The misshapen protein that causes CWD hasn't been shown to affect humans, but concerns over it are leading some hunters to avoid certain areas or give up the sport entirely. That, in turn, could make it harder for the remaining hunters, already an aging and dwindling group, to keep the herd in check. Nationally, the number of hunters dropped 16 percent from 2011 to 2016. The level of hunting in 2016 was the lowest measured in the past 25 years.
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What to do?
Until scientists discover a way to deer-proof our roadways, the best advice for avoiding them is to take it slow in rural wooded areas in the evening hours, especially on winding roads with blind approaches.
References
- Marc Siegel, False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic of Fear, (John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2005)
- "Number of people killed by animals each year in the US remains unchanged,", February 28, 2018
- "List of deadliest animals to humans," , June 30, 2019
- Ross Pomeroy, "Deadlier than sharks: the science of deer in the headlights,", April 7, 2014
- Bengt Halvorson, "Deer vs. car: no winners here," The Car Connection, October 4, 2004
- "Facts + statistics: deer vehicle collisions,"
- Ross Pomeroy, "Deer are a menace and we need to kill a lot more of them," , December 20, 2018
- Jason Stein, "The hunt for answers,"
Jack Dini -- Bio and
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Jack Dini is author of Challenging Environmental Mythology. He has also written for American Council on Science and Health, Environment & Climate News, and Hawaii Reporter.
