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I live in an area with a HUGE Urban/Wildlife Interface (city limit borders Pikes Peak & Pike National Forest). This means large populations of deer, elk, bighorn sheep, coyotes, bear & even one of the largest populations of mountain lion in the state.
Following the Waldo Canyon Fire in 2012 & the Black Forest Fire of 2013 we seem to have acquired a large amount of "Urban Deer" that seem to be more comfortable remaining within city limits vs outside of.
An odd observation I have made lately is in regards to the female deer & their young: They no longer congregate in the streets. It's not unusual to see small herds actually walking down the sidewalks ... even waiting at crosswalks as if they are actually waiting for the light to change.
It's very strange! The males, however, do not seem as educated & have no such sense for traffic. My husband was hit by one such deer who was bolting out of an apartment complex, into the road, T-boned him, bounced off & kept going.
It caved in the drivers side door & shattered the driver side & rear passenger window. I WILL defenitley "brake for deer" ... I'm not going to panic & swerve, or slam on my brakes on the ice but I feel I would be endangering the human lives in my car if I didn't respect the damage a deer can do.
When I was working on the Trauma/Surgical units I saw what was probably the worst survivable injuries of a human being sustained by the combination of ..."Big guy/Little car/Big cow" ... I would definitley reccommend that be avoided; if at all possible!
Horrible that people drive over wildlife. We have wild foul near our workplace, no one would dare hit a geese or a duck crossing the road, that's disgusting.
Closest I ever came to hitting an animal was a wild pheasant. They will wait until you are just about before them then they will panic and run out in front of you. Rabbits aren't exactly streetwise about roads either.
Quote:
Originally Posted by coschristi
It's very strange! The males, however, do not seem as educated & have no such sense for traffic. My husband was hit by one such deer who was bolting out of an apartment complex, into the road, T-boned him, bounced off & kept going.
Me and a friend hit a deer when it bolted out of some bushes when we were on our way to a party at night. There was literally nothing he could have done. Poor thing was still alive. We lived in a very small community so he knew the local farmer, he came over and broke his neck.
After the one time when I corrected course to avoid a squirrel and he still ran right under my tires, I have stopped trying to avoid running over rodents. Not saying I will speed up and try to hit them or anything, but I figure evolution is best served by driving straight ahead and at most slowing down a little.
I believe you witnessed a crime. If it happens again, get the license plate and report it to the police.
Sad to admit we had the same thing happen here a few years ago. A witness got the plate number and the man was prosecuted for killing them.
I agree it is pretty ignorant to run over any living thing intentionally. But if some one with a gun and a hunting dog can kill them for sport why should the ignorant motorist go to jail.
A few months ago my daughter was riding in my car & saw what she swears was a guy in a company van who "hit a squirrel on purpose" (actually; it did look like he sped up & aimed for it).
She was so upset she took a picture of him in the van with the company logo, outed him on social media & called the company to inform them.
I wouldn't go out of my way to hit a living creature, but I would shed no tears over any and all tree rats, I mean squirrels, that meet an untimely death.
After the one time when I corrected course to avoid a squirrel and he still ran right under my tires, I have stopped trying to avoid running over rodents. Not saying I will speed up and try to hit them or anything, but I figure evolution is best served by driving straight ahead and at most slowing down a little.
I wouldn't go out of my way to hit a living creature, but I would shed no tears over any and all tree rats, I mean squirrels, that meet an untimely death.
We have suicidal chipmunks too. They run out in front of you and dart back and forth, like they are *trying* to get hit. I think they're cute, and wouldn't hit one on purpose, but I'm not going to chance a wreck by swerving to try to avoid them.
Tree rats are less cute, and in abundance, both the red and grey kinds. They chew stuff up, especially cars and right now there is at least one and maybe more that have got into my walls. I had to take the Ivory soap out of my bathroom vanity- they were getting in through the pipe chaseway and eating it. I can hear them in there chewing on stuff but they have avoided being trapped so far. Unlike the mice, they won't come out in the open where the cats or dog can get them (ya, I taught the dog to catch mice too). I hunt them when I get the chance, and they are the only things I hunt, and I taught the dog to tree them for me.
iv`e only been here a year and a half or so but i do remember a long running thread about a person who stopped in the middle of a busy street in canada or somewhere for some animals and some people on a motorcycle rear ended them and were killed .. the majority of posts were not in favor of the person in the car .. do not stop for critters ,,,
Yeah, boy. That animal stood there and said... "let me wait until The Big Lewboski Dude comes down the street, then I'm going to run in front of him and cause a lot of damage to his car and put his life in danger." Give me a break.
Obviously, I know the deer doesn't intentionally run in front of cars. However, so what?! The effect is the same - i.e., a person can be seriously hurt or killed by these animals. So what if they don't intentionally mean to hurt you?! Because of their actions, the end result is the same. Like rabid dogs, these animals are a menace.
By the same token, rattlesnakes "can't help it" when they bit someone & kill them with their venom.
People have also been maimed & killed by dogs because the dogs "can't help it".
I live in an area with a HUGE Urban/Wildlife Interface (city limit borders Pikes Peak & Pike National Forest). This means large populations of deer, elk, bighorn sheep, coyotes, bear & even one of the largest populations of mountain lion in the state. Following the Waldo Canyon Fire in 2012 & the Black Forest Fire of 2013 we seem to have acquired a large amount of "Urban Deer" that seem to be more comfortable remaining within city limits vs outside of. An odd observation I have made lately is in regards to the female deer & their young: They no longer congregate in the streets. It's not unusual to see small herds actually walking down the sidewalks ... even waiting at crosswalks as if they are actually waiting for the light to change. It's very strange! The males, however, do not seem as educated & have no such sense for traffic. My husband was hit by one such deer who was bolting out of an apartment complex, into the road, T-boned him, bounced off & kept going.
I think many animals are smart, IMO, smarter than most humans. If you do some animal watching, then some people watching, this is easy to see. I've seen elk and deer casually stroll through cities before. I think they realized that shooting wasn't allowed in city limits. As I don't think they know exactly where these safe zones are, I think they have a decent idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by coschristi
It caved in the drivers side door & shattered the driver side & rear passenger window. I WILL definitely "brake for deer" ... I'm not going to panic & swerve, or slam on my brakes on the ice but I feel I would be endangering the human lives in my car if I didn't respect the damage a deer can do. When I was working on the Trauma/Surgical units I saw what was probably the worst survivable injuries of a human being sustained by the combination of ..."Big guy/Little car/Big cow" ... I would definitely recommend that be avoided; if at all possible!
You just using common sense when driving. After reading many of the replies on this page, I'm afraid to get on the road.
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Suicidial squirrels
Give me a break.
After reading many of the replies on this page, I'm afraid to get on the road.
