Correct me if I’m wrong, but I understood that deer have realtively sharp senses and quick reflexes compared to humans. Don’t they see these big things are making noises and charging at them? Why don’t they run away? Wouldn’t that be their response to a charging predator?
Of course I have nearly clobbered crazy-ass squirrels which pull stuff like running 3/4 of the way across the road and then spinning and running back the other way.
Personally, while I’ve seen deer next to or crossing roads, I’ve never come close to hitting any. So tell me more about their behavior, please.
I can’t be too sure, but I have a couple ideas (read WAGs ):
Deer may be trying to get onto the surface where they can move with the greatest speed to escape a predator. The road is usually smooth, flat, and has no large bushes or trees growing on it, so they may think it offers them the best opportunity to escape.
Deer may be trying to run across a predator’s path in order to confuse it. By first appearing to get closer (and then be more easily caught), then crossing the path of the predator, they might force it to turn and lose valuable time in its attempt to catch them.
The deer are really confused by all the bright light, noise, and speed of the car, so what they’re doing doesn’t make a heck of a lot of sense.
In (1) and (2), I’ve assumed that the deer percieves the car as a predator… this might be a horribly mistaken assumption, and should be taken with the appropriate grain of the condiment of your choice.
“Habitat fragmentation is when large areas of wildlife habitat are broken
up into smaller areas by some topographic feature. Keep in mind that deer
are large, very mobile animals that need large areas of land to survive.
When habitats in which deer live are broken up by roads, the deer are
forced to cross the roads on a regular basis and this inevitably causes
accidents.”
<snip>
Along the same lines, deer are also attracted to roadsides and shoulders
because these areas are often planted with plants that deer find highly
attractive to eat. In cold areas of the country, deer are also attracted
to roadways by the salt that is put down to de-ice the roads.
Deer are stupid, so are squirrels. The subject was covered before, either in a staff report or an article by the Perfect Master. The animals can’t comprehend how fast cars go, and their escape route would probably be ok if cars were only as fast as a wolf, mountain lion or other predator.
Deer also tend to freeze and stand completely still when first startled. (Hence the term “like a deer in the headlights”). They’ll freeze for a second or two, and after discerning the threat, they generally start running quickly.
I’m guessing it’s a survival instinct. The human eye automatically tends to lock on to movment, and I’d assume (no cite, sorry) this trait is true for other predator species as well. If the deer stands stock-still, the predator might not see it. Unfortunately, this technique doesn’t work so well when faced with a car approaching at 90+ feet per second. Pausing even for 1 second can mean the difference between life and death for the deer.
There would be no reason for deer to consider cars to be “predators.” Such judgements, if you were to call them that, are built in over millions of years of survival. Cars have posed a danger to deer for the last 100 years, maybe. They may be skittish about loud car noises, but may also learn to tolerate those noises living in forests where roads are. Seeing a car on the roadway wouldn’t register in a deer’s brain the same way a mountain lion would. They certainly don’t have built in fight or flight behaviors for Buicks. Ergo…venison.
A deers habitat is usually figured as within one square mile of it’s birth. A fawn, born in an area that has automobile traffic, will never fear that sound. It grows used to the sight. Notice next time when you see them grazing along side of the road, they don’t even bother to look up as you pass. Your auto is not perceived as a threat. White tail deer are big time creatures of habit. The doe will follow the path of her mother, as her fawns will follow her. Forever. No amount of land development will change that to any degree. The deer you see walking across your open yard, are the ancestors of the deer that walked there years ago when the woods were thick. Next time you see a ‘DEER CROSSING’ highway sign, yes, it means that numerous deer have been hit by cars in that area, and the reason being, as I stated above…creatures of habit. A man made road just means that on the other side of that road, is the continuation of the path their ancestors walked, and they aren’t about to change that. It’s the deer law. I’ve hunted deer for 40 years. When the bullets start flying in November, THAT causes a change in direction. Come a few weeks after the season, and they are right back on their trails.
There are two useful techniques deer use for avoiding predators (wolves) that don’t work very well for cars:
Evade a fast-moving predator by crossing its path at a right angle. Just about all prey do this, including birds. Dogfighters also do this.
Confuse a predator by not moving. Wolves, the primary predator of deer, have a difficult time attacking a stationary deer, because the deer is more formidable, and wolves’ eyesight works much better on moving objects. There are rich tactics here – deer will face off a single wolf, while the wolf calls to the pack. As the pack arrives, they will try to taunt the deer into running, while the deer tries to kick the wolves. At some point the deer will bolt, and try to jump to a more defensible position. Only when the wolves numbers become too large will the deer run all out.
[QUOTE=cornflakes]
Deer are stupid, so are squirrels.QUOTE]
Actually, deer are quite smart. Have you ever been bow hunting? A little technique they do can screw your shot if you move. If they think they see something moving up in the tree, they will stare at you for quite a while. Then they move their head down, which can make you think it doesn’t know your there and you move, but then it will fling its head right back up to see if you are moving. Then run away. That is a pretty smart move if you ask me.
How an animal responds after being startled depends on the type of animal. A coyote, for example, will run. That’s why you never see a dead coyote lying on the side of the road. A deer will freeze. Hence deer are very vulnerable to being hit by cars; when a deer sees a car coming, it will instinctively freeze.
In each case (coyote and deer), the response after being startled is rooted in survivalism.
Have you ever seen signs in wildlife preserves that give stern warnings NOT to feed the deer? Feeding wild animals eases their natural fear of humans and cars (because they’re often fed from the window of a car).
Maybe I shouldn’t have said “stupid.” I should have said “not quite smart enough to know that the best way to avoid a car is to not run straight into a quarter panel.” I never got around to carrying tags in the last car I owned, but I should have.
You’re right, deer are fairly smart. They are skittish though, and they do lack the ability to comprehend that something as big as a car can move that fast.
Deer travel in herds. Rudolf crosses the road, Joe Driver’s head turns to watch Rudolf, meanwhile Blitzen is following Rudolf and runs in front of Joe Driver’s car. It’s not so much the deer you see that get hit, it’s the ones you don’t see.
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