We had a very close call today - Page 3

Bird mama · ‎03-12-2010

I think of this thread, the best case may be to agree to disagree.

Just a thought - not trying to stifle or preach.

There are many elements: wind, fire, water
But none quite like the element of surprise

LilacTree · ‎03-25-2012

There are tons of deer in South Jersey, especially on the rural two lane highway (road) that leads to the LBI shore. There are always deer carcasses on the side of the road, yet people drive on this two lane road as though it's an eight lane highway. My youngest daughter has been hit by a deer two different times en route to the shore. She has been lucky. I say she has been hit, because they literally run out of the pine barrens that line the road into the cars.

So when we drive down the shore, we drive slowly with our eyes glued to the road and the sides of the road (not into our phones and tablets). I have never driven that road (which is the only route available) where I did not see a fresh deer carcass or deer themselves on the edge of the forest milling about waiting to dart across the road.

I believe my little daughter with Lyme Disease caught it from deer that roamed her property when she had her home in the large wealthy neighborhood where she used to live. When we sat on the deck in the back of the house, lined with woods, the deer would roam up to 50 feet from us sometimes. Yes, that wealthy neighborhood was built on what was forest land, a forest that belonged to the deer. We were the invaders.

I was walking down the driveway one evening to get the mail, and I heard my daughter yell "Mom, watch out!" as at the same time a huge buck actually brushed against my body as he ran down the same driveway. Had he hit me directly, well, I don't know if I'd still be here. So we have had our altercations with deer.

We are all still against the "culling" of the herd, so to speak. It just does not seem right to us. They have as much right to their home as we do.

I don't know if any of you have seen the new series on CBS called "Zoo." There have been two episodes so far. Now this is fiction of course, but it does ring true. Human beings do not have the right to everything on earth, in it, and on it, and all of its inhabitants and resources, to use for just our purposes. We are destroying it in the process. Just think about it.

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

@Gemspirit wrote:
This is MY opinion. First of thanks be that you nor your family were not hurt, nor was the deer. The idea of culling the dear population is upsetting to me. If it were to provide good healthy protein to those whom otherwise wouldn't have it....is a way I find agreeable. There is a hunger issue in this country as in others, and we don't adequately address it. As the dear, also one of the creators children should be honoured and used for good rather than culled for conveinance or trophy. I am not saying anything personal. But it brought up personal memories of my own.
I grew up in England, where animals were revered (at least in my village and family) as gifts to be used when necessary for, food, their hides, and the bones and bucks as instruments in rural areas. My grandad had a victory garden, as did all my aunties and uncles. They hunted for food, not sport. And before each meal thanked our creator for providing such riches as the garden and whatever animal that gave it life to feed us. At times it was quail, and goose, rabbit. Only occasionally a deer which was shared amongst the family. One of my uncles was the game warden and nature conservator for our village. I was fortunate as a child and young woman to learn so much about plants, animals, waterways, etc.
My issue with deters in our time here in the States is that; so many woodlands and forests have been torn down for McMansions, shopping centres, condos, etc that, in many areas the deer have lost their home. They are a nuisance and safety issue for us. But we have taken their natural environment meant. It's like the old song~Joni Mitchell I think..."They paved paradise and put up a parking lot"

gemspirit,

I was unable to "heart" your post due to a Java error, so have come back to tell you that your post was wonderful. Thank you for sharing your experience and point of view, with which I most heartedly agree.

hckynutjohn · ‎06-15-2015

@cherry wrote:
I don't live in the boondocks. There Is a bIg 10 school within about 10 miles from me and also urban sprawl. However, we have lots of greenbelts, and am glad that we do. It is pretty wooded and lush. We also have a river winding through the area

But today, on our way to lunch a young deer bounded out of the woods, and we almost hit it ,as it ran across the road in front of our car. WE have seen deer so often in this area. We almost had a huge buck collide with us, as he lept across the road in front of our car ,a few years ago

The problem seems to be, there are people who don't want the herds culled. I don't know what they can be thinking of. Public safety should be number 1 imho

Hi cherry,

We have many deer that feed in our acreage and those of our neighbors. Unfortunately there is a State Highway running above all of our property and that of our neighbors.

I can't tell you how many deer have been killed in the 15+ years we have lived here. Had 1 last week not far from our property line. I call our State Humane Society, but they only pick them up on specific days. At times they are there for days. I think some private citizens pick them up to harvest what they can.

There are no roads in our area where you will not see deer crossing, or visible on the sides of the roads. Most of these roadways and highways are lined with dense trees and brush, which exaserbates this problem.

I have had my own deer in the road sightings for decades now, but have avoided contact of deer and my vehicle. Some of it is luck, but my belief it has more to do with my driving. Thr highway above our home has a 60mph speed limit. There is no way I have, or will ever, drive that fast on that highway, but many drive over that speed.

Our road to the city proper and the Interstate is a divided by an island 4+ lane roadway. Speed limit of 45mph. Most that drive this road must think they are on an Interstate Highway.

As i drive at the speed limit everyone passes me, some like i might as well be stopped, and people wonder why deer get hit on this very wide road? C'mon people, a tree lined road with "deer crossing" signs everywhere!

When i drive this road i always use the lane furthest from the closest tree line. Why? Because 100% of my focus is on driving, not multi-tasking.

Have i ever hit a deer in my 60 years of driving? No I have not, and I towed race cars thousands of miles, for 15 years, over 2 lane highways. There were no 4 lane or Interstate Highways during those years, but there were still deer, and plenty of " deer crossing" signs back in those days also.

I understand that some collisions between deer an vehicles are not avoidable, but i also know that a majority of vehicle drivers do not have 100% of their focus on driving/drive way too fast and pay as little attention to "deer crossing" signs as they do to "posted" Speed Limit signs.

Who suffers from this inattentive driving? The deer and also some innocent drivers that just happen to be in the area and end up as "collateral damage" !!!

E.T.A. My solution? Drivers get their heads out of their rear ends/cell phones/yay-yak-yak when driving/obey posted speed limits/drive like your life and everyone else in your vehicle and others on the road depends on your operation and driving of the vehicle, because it does.

My guess is, if everyone followed even 1 of these suggestion, there would be fewer accidents and "on, purposes" on all of our highways and byways.

With the ever growing loss of habitats and sanctuaries for these animals, along with more brain dead morons driving/texting/yaking, and other idiotic actions shile "supposedly driving"? The number of deer is almost irrelevent in comparison to the ABOVE MENTIONED.

hckynut(john)

cherry · ‎03-09-2010

@hckynutjohn wrote:

@cherry wrote:
I don't live in the boondocks. There Is a bIg 10 school within about 10 miles from me and also urban sprawl. However, we have lots of greenbelts, and I am glad that we do. It is pretty wooded and lush. We also have a river winding through the area

But today, on our way to lunch a young deer bounded out of the woods, and we almost hit it ,as it ran across the road in front of our car. WE have seen deer so often in this area. We almost had a huge buck collide with us, as he lept across the road in front of our car ,a few years ago

The problem seems to be, there are people who don't want the herds culled. I don't know what they can be thinking of. Public safety should be number 1 imho

Hi cherry,

We have many deer that feed in our acreage and those of our neighbors. Unfortunately there is a State Highway running above all of our property and that of our neighbors.

I can't tell you how many deer have been killed in the 15+ years we have lived here. Had 1 last week not far from our property line. I call our State Humane Society, but they only pick them up on specific days. At times they are there for days. I think some private citizens pick them up to harvest what they can.

There are no roads in our area where you will not see deer crossing, or visible on the sides of the roads. Most of these roadways and highways are lined with dense trees and brush, which exaserbates this problem.

I have had my own deer in the road sightings for decades now, but have avoided contact of deer and my vehicle. Some of it is luck, but my belief it has more to do with my driving. Thr highway above our home has a 60mph speed limit. There is no way I have, or will ever, drive that fast on that highway, but many drive over that speed.

Our road to the city proper and the Interstate is a divided by an island 4+ lane roadway. Speed limit of 45mph. Most that drive this road must think they are on an Interstate Highway.

As i drive at the speed limit everyone passes me, some like i might as well be stopped, and people wonder why deer get hit on this very wide road? C'mon people, a tree lined road with "deer crossing" signs everywhere!

When i drive this road i always use the lane furthest from the closest tree line. Why? Because 100% of my focus is on driving, not multi-tasking.

Have i ever hit a deer in my 60 years of driving? No I have not, and I towed race cars thousands of miles, for 15 years, over 2 lane highways. There were no 4 lane or Interstate Highways during those years, but there were still deer, and plenty of " deer crossing" signs back in those days also.

I understand that some collisions between deer an vehicles are not avoidable, but i also know that a majority of vehicle drivers do not have 100% of their focus on driving/drive way too fast and pay as little attention to "deer crossing" signs as they do to "posted" Speed Limit signs.

Who suffers from this inattentive driving? The deer and also some innocent drivers that just happen to be in the area and end up as "collateral damage" !!!

This is inside the city limits

IamMrsG · ‎08-29-2010

LilacTree wrote in part: " Human beings do not have the right to everything on earth, in it, and on it, and all of its inhabitants and resources, to use for just our purposes. We are destroying it in the process. Just think about it."

We disagree a little on this, and it will be complicated for me to explain my point without bringing religion into it. I hope it is within QVC's boundaries to refer you to Genesis 1:26 for my reasoning that man does have dominion over all of earth. That said, though, I certainly agree that as the ones at the top of the chain, we have responsibility to be good stewards of such.

"To whom much is given..."

Strive for respect instead of attention. It lasts longer.

NoelSeven · ‎03-09-2010

ago - last edited 25m ago

@NoelSeven wrote:
Cherry,

The same thing just happened to another poster's husband, but in his case the buck hit the car which was then totaled. Very dangerous.

There have been mountain lion sitings in SF and many other cities in Northern CA.

The same is happening with shark invasions at beaches.

Because of global warming, including the drought, and building in areas where the animals used to live, they are encroaching on populated areas.

@Venezia wrote:

No...we are encroaching on their territory by building on it and forcing them into smaller and smaller areas of habitat. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." It is of our own making.

My husband hit a deer that leapt in front of his car earlier this year, just as he was coming out of work. Sadly, the deer was killed, the car suffered approximately $5000 damage; thankfully my husband was okay, but very shaken.

We've also had many "near misses". We know what the deer (and moose) population is like and we adjust our driving accordingly, especially at certain times of the year. Having said that, some times a collision is simply unavoidable.

We still would never support "culling" the deer population or that of any other wildlife. We do not consider ourselves the "supreme" beings on this planet.

*********************

Uh, yeah. That's just what I was saying:

"Because of global warming, including the drought, and building in areas where the animals used to live, they are encroaching on populated areas."

We built on THEIR area, so now they go where it's populated, looking for their original food supplies.

Who said anything about culling, not I.

You're preaching to the choir.

A Thrill Of Hope The Weary World Rejoices

LilacTree · ‎03-25-2012

@IamMrsG wrote:
LilacTree wrote in part: " Human beings do not have the right to everything on earth, in it, and on it, and all of its inhabitants and resources, to use for just our purposes. We are destroying it in the process. Just think about it."
We disagree a little on this, and it will be complicated for me to explain my point without bringing religion into it. I hope it is within QVC's boundaries to refer you to Genesis 1:26 for my reasoning that man does have dominion over all of earth. That said, though, I certainly agree that as the ones at the top of the chain, we have responsibility to be good stewards of such.

"To whom much is given..."

IamMrsG, I appreciate and respect your intent. However, those are not my beliefs. I do agree we should be "good stewards," however we have not been, and to me that is obvious. I do not believe as your Bible quote says that "man has dominion over all the earth." I am assuming that we can respectfully disagree on this point.

Formerly Ford1224
We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Elie Wiesel 1986

IamMrsG · ‎08-29-2010

@LilacTree wrote:
IamMrsG, I appreciate and respect your intent. However, those are not my beliefs. I do agree we should be "good stewards," however we have not been, and to me that is obvious. I do not believe as your Bible quote says that "man has dominion over all the earth." I am assuming that we can respectfully disagree on this point.

We can definitely respectfully disagree and remain friendly.

We agree on one other aspect I did not touch on. We are miserably failing our stewardship and will pay the price for it.

Strive for respect instead of attention. It lasts longer.

hckynutjohn · ‎06-15-2015

This is inside the city limits

cherry,

The 4 lane road I mention is also inside the city limits. I don't honestly know what difference that makes concerning this issue. Cut the number of deer in half, and in my opinion, you are treating the symptom, not the source Treating the "Souce", the same as with one's health, is the most likely way to at least limit the damage to deer/vehicles, and humans.

Getting drivers heads where they belong is "THE SOURCE", until such time the number of deer, inside or outside a city limit, will do little to lessen the problem. As long as people driving on public roads "are sitting on their brains"?

There will be just as many, or more, animal versus vehicle, "on purposes", and a few "true accidents", both inside and outside any city limits, in our country.

hckynut(john)