Deer get too close for suburbs' comfort

[Guest guest]

From LymeInfo:

" Deer have some residents worried about the spread of disease, particularly

Lyme disease. The Michigan Department of Community Health says, however, that

there has never been a case of Lyme disease being spread from a deer to a human

in the state. "

****

The Detroit News

Detroit MI

October 1, 2004

http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0410/03/c01-290443.htm

[Photos omitted on LymeInfo – go to URL at top of page to view]

Mears / The Detroit News

   Rochester Hills resident Harry Showers, left, talks to the city's

naturalist, Lance Devoe, about the abundance of deer that show up in front of

Showers'

home.

Deer get too close for suburbs' comfort

Population in developed areas explodes, problems too

By D. / The Detroit News

They were here first.

Before manicured lawns and sport utility vehicles. Before half-million-dollar

homes sprang up in Rochester Hills. Before ’s Pub became part of

Dearborn, and well before the GM Tech Center was built in Warren.

But recently, many of the 1.75 million of the state’s deer have been

reappearing in those and other developed areas, including downtown Royal Oak and

Northville and near the Southfield community swimming pool.

As the herds explode in Metro Detroit, so do the problems. Michigan had

67,760 deer-vehicle accidents in 2003, compared to 48,000 in 1993. Eleven people

died in the crashes last year, up from five in 2002.

Two weeks ago, a lost doe galloped through the Gardenviews shop on Northville’

s Main Street.

“I heard some commotion in the back and when I came around the counter, I

came face to face with the doe,†said Betsy Holda, a sales associate. “It

came

through a back door, but when I saw it looking at the front picture window I

knew what it was going to do.â€

But the tempered glass knocked the doe back over glass-blown garden

ornaments, breaking them. It finally escaped through a side door.

Deer have some residents worried about the spread of disease, particularly

Lyme disease. The Michigan Department of Community Health says, however, that

there has never been a case of Lyme disease being spread from a deer to a human

in the state.

Metro Detroit neighborhoods are becoming used to close encounters with deer:

Deer are making their beds a few feet from back doors, leaving piles of deer

droppings, destroying expensive shrubs and flowers and stealing birdseed from

feeders.

“There’s a herd living between Royal Oak and Huntington Woods right now. I

was visiting a friend near 10 Mile and Lahser in Southfield, and when I

returned to my car, there was a yearling standing right by my car door.â€

In Dearborn, a wayward deer was frolicking along Michigan Avenue last year

until police were called to corral it.

“Yes, we do get calls from time to time about deer sightings here,†said

Elaine Greene, executive director of the Friends for the Dearborn Animal

Shelter.

“We got a call just the other day about a dead deer in Hines Park. But they’

re all over the campus of the University of Michigan Dearborn and the Henry

Ford estate because of the wetlands and all the wooded areas.â€

Pat Bevil of Shelby Township often sees deer grazing on 22 Mile and 23 Mile

roads near Van Dyke, and on Road between Auburn and 22 Mile.

“I saw one recently dart across the street into a golf course one night while

I was driving,†she said. “I just hope it made it. We take away their

habitat and where do we expect them to go?â€

Three years ago, General Motors had to pay $250 per deer to move 150 of them

from land across from its Warren Tech Center at 13 Mile and Mound to a new

location.

Another solution? Hunt and kill them, said the DNR.

“But most cities in Oakland, Wayne, Macomb and Livingston do not permit

hunting deer in residential areas,†said Tim Payne, a DNT district wildlife

biologist in Livonia.

The mayor of Rochester Hills, Somerville, had to post a letter on

the city’s Web site warning residents that it was illegal to hunt in that

city.

“So the only thing they can do is try deer deterrents like sprays, invisible

fences and learn to live with them. But the most hazardous consequence of deer

populations in developed areas are the increasing car-deer accidents,†Payne

said.

Payne further pointed to the autumn mating season, when bucks are chasing

does, and they run out onto roads.

“We used to see an occasional deer in our back yard,†said

Dziurman of Rochester Hills. “But in the last three or four years, we see

herds of

deer with constant offspring.

“Granted, they are beautiful to see, but along with them come the problems of

trampling and eating plants, not to speak of the possibility of Lyme disease

and traffic accidents.â€

Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that can cause fever, malaise, fatigue,

headache, muscle aches and joint aches, is transmitted to people and animals by

the bite of an infected tick.

Deer have been blamed for helping it Lyme disease spread along the Eastern

Seaboard, but not here, the state says.

“We also monitor deer for TB in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula,â€

Payne said. “But it’s never been found in deer down here.â€

Suburban deer populations continue to grow because of the availability of

food and lack of predators and hunting.

“No one is actually out there counting deer,†Payne explained. “We count

on

hunters to bring us their kill and we use a formula to determine the number of

deer. It’s just an estimate.†Bow hunting season opens today.

The estimates, however, are for increases in Metro Detroit. In Oakland

County, for example, the DNR projects deer numbers to increase to between 20,000

and

27,000 this year, compared to 15,300 last year.

Madeline Scarletta, who has lived in Rochester Hills for 14 years, doesn’t

mind the deer. In fact, she enjoys watching them from her back yard deck.

“I do believe we can live in harmony with the animals,†she said.

“There are small herds of deer all over urbanized areas, wherever there is a

patch of woods,†said Lt. Copeland- of the Michigan Department of

Natural Resources law division in Livonia.

You can reach D. at (248) 647-8825 or slewis@....

****

photos

Mears / The Detroit News

    A deer pauses in a Rochester Hills yard near Avon Road. The number of

herds is exploding, causing deer to pop up in developed areas and fueling

residents' fears of property damage, car crashes and the spread of Lyme disease.

****

What you can do to avoid car-deer crashes

-Be especially alert in the spring and fall and at dawn and dusk, but keep in

mind that car-deer crashes occur at all times of day, year-round.

-Whitetail deer are herd animals and frequently travel in single file. If you

see one whitetail cross the road, chances are there are more coming. If you

see one, slow down.

-If a deer darts in front of your car, hit the brakes but don't swerve.

Police statistics show that most motorist deaths and injuries occur when drivers

swerve to avoid hitting the deer and strike a fixed object like a tree.

-If you hit a deer, report the crash to the nearest police agency and your

insurance company.

-Police or DNR conservation officers may issue you a permit to keep the deer.

If you don't want it, consider donating it to Michigan Sportsmen Against

Hunger for use at food banks and shelters. For information, call (313) 278-FOOD.

Source: Southeast Michigan Council of Governments Michigan Deer Crash

Coalition

[RoseNote: There is an online poll that asks whether or not you have seen

more deer in Detroit area this year. Go to URL at top of page to vote.

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