Why are there so many dead deer bodies on the Merritt?
June 9, 2008 1:48 PM Subscribe
Why are there so many dead deer bodies on the side of the highway on the Merritt Parkway in CT? Do they die on the side of the road right before they prance onto the highway? They look too perfectly placed and appear to lack much bleeding to have been run over then moved aside.
I know every once in a while you see a dead deer body on the side of the highway here and there. However, this weekend I drove down the Merritt Parkway from Milford into New York and saw at least 10 dead deer bodies on the side of the highway.
The bodies didn't look like they're run over and even if they are... do people who run over deer really have the time to back up to move the deer body aside? Especially at night when cars tend to speed down the Merritt... deer-hitters actually get out of their car to move the deer body aside risking the possibility of getting hit by a car themselves?
I know it was unusually hot this weekend (mid 90s) so maybe deers are passing out cause of the heat? But I also noticed the high body count of dead deers when I drove down in February when the temperature was in the 30s.
I know every once in a while you see a dead deer body on the side of the highway here and there. However, this weekend I drove down the Merritt Parkway from Milford into New York and saw at least 10 dead deer bodies on the side of the highway.
The bodies didn't look like they're run over and even if they are... do people who run over deer really have the time to back up to move the deer body aside? Especially at night when cars tend to speed down the Merritt... deer-hitters actually get out of their car to move the deer body aside risking the possibility of getting hit by a car themselves?
I know it was unusually hot this weekend (mid 90s) so maybe deers are passing out cause of the heat? But I also noticed the high body count of dead deers when I drove down in February when the temperature was in the 30s.
Deer don't get run over, they get hit. More broken bones and bruises than lacerations.
posted by winston at 1:58 PM on June 9, 2008
posted by winston at 1:58 PM on June 9, 2008
I've witnessed people being killed by vehicle impacts: the guy that was merely struck didn't bleed much, whereas the guy who went under the wheels of a truck was horribly mangled.
I expect the same would be true for deer.
posted by aramaic at 1:58 PM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
I expect the same would be true for deer.
posted by aramaic at 1:58 PM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]
Often deer and other animals are clipped by cars and trucks, which is enough to fatally injure them but does not mutilate them, and either have enough momentum or panicked strength left to limp or drag themselves out of the line of traffic, or are flung a small distance by the force of the impact. They then die of massive internal bleeding -- hence the lack of blood -- and other internal trauma, along the shoulder or in the highway median.
Also note that the plural of deer is deer.
posted by aught at 2:03 PM on June 9, 2008
Also note that the plural of deer is deer.
posted by aught at 2:03 PM on June 9, 2008
I've been in the car-deer collision. It's quite an impact. We were able to drive into a nearby parking lot, and called the police. When they arrived, they asked a few preliminary questions for the police report, and then asked what we wanted to do with the deer. Apparently, we had the legal right to keep it, as we had killed it. Since we gave the good officer a big "no thanks," he indicated that it would be picked up at a later time. He helped us check out the car to assure that it was safe to drive home, and we went on our way.
posted by ferociouskitty at 2:04 PM on June 9, 2008
posted by ferociouskitty at 2:04 PM on June 9, 2008
Yeah, I think deer don't get "run over" so much as "hit hard enough to fly to the side of the road". There's not a ton of blood and gashes, just serious internal injuries that kill the animal. If they're still in the road after dying, an officer will have to move them off the road to prevent further car accidents, but it's somebody else's job to go get the carcass later.
I have no idea why you'd be seeing so many more recently, though.
posted by vytae at 2:06 PM on June 9, 2008
I have no idea why you'd be seeing so many more recently, though.
posted by vytae at 2:06 PM on June 9, 2008
Sometimes the cops have to finish what your car started.
Out of mercy?
Maybe to keep them from dragging themselves back onto the road.
posted by Seamus at 2:37 PM on June 9, 2008
Out of mercy?
Maybe to keep them from dragging themselves back onto the road.
posted by Seamus at 2:37 PM on June 9, 2008
Funny just a few days ago I watched some guys with a government vehicle drag a deer off the road, then get back in (presumably to drive away).
The deer's hide is very thick and pretty tough, I'm guessing that between the internal injuries that damage them just enough that they succumb as they walk away and situations like the one I mention above, that probably accounts for the bodies.
Some times you'll see the deer swell like a balloon due to the decomp inside the body releasing gas. The ones that don't appear to have injuries but don't swell must have at least one hole to allow that gas to exit.
posted by TheDukeofLancaster at 3:22 PM on June 9, 2008
The deer's hide is very thick and pretty tough, I'm guessing that between the internal injuries that damage them just enough that they succumb as they walk away and situations like the one I mention above, that probably accounts for the bodies.
Some times you'll see the deer swell like a balloon due to the decomp inside the body releasing gas. The ones that don't appear to have injuries but don't swell must have at least one hole to allow that gas to exit.
posted by TheDukeofLancaster at 3:22 PM on June 9, 2008
I have seen a deer hit by a Subaru Outback going about 65mph. The deer literally flew/flipped over 3 lanes of highway before landing on the other side of the road. It was still alive - though I'm sure it wasn't for much longer after that. So I would assume when many of them get hit, they are pushed back off the road, or are able to drag themselves away before dying.
posted by All.star at 3:43 PM on June 9, 2008
posted by All.star at 3:43 PM on June 9, 2008
A friend of mine was hit by a deer while driving his motorcycle on the Sprain. The deer literally jumped into him. He was pretty hurt, mostly from sliding on the road for a while after falling off his bike. Deer broke his leg. Managed to get to the shoulder before he lay down. As Seamus said, cop took the deer out of its misery. There was fur stuck in the handle bars of the bike.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 3:54 PM on June 9, 2008
posted by JohnnyGunn at 3:54 PM on June 9, 2008
I have absolutely nothing to back this up with, of course, but I feel like I've heard that more deer (and moose, etc) end up roadkill when it's very hot because they're trying to escape the bugs. It's not that they pass out from the heat, but that they're just more likely to try to leave the woods, and therefore end up on the road, and therefore get hit by a car. Maybe someone with more expertise has more insight.
posted by lampoil at 4:22 PM on June 9, 2008
posted by lampoil at 4:22 PM on June 9, 2008
Speaking as the son of a professional "deer hitter"....
My Dad would purposefully hit any deer that crossed our path. The reason was, as someone earlier suggested, that we got to keep the deer once the proper reports were taken. Deer was a main meat source for us back then.
When he got tired of jacking up all of our vehicles (we had a lot of one head lighted cars) he actually rigged the front of our truck with a spring loaded cattle guard so the deer would be tossed to the ground and he could purposefully run it over. You see, many times when you hit a deer, it simply gets up and wonders off. Like others have said, no visible wounds etc.
A couple of other notes as to why you may see more now than at other times… Could there be construction in the surrounding areas? Here we are noticing in a nearby neighborhood that deer are beginning to be a nuisance in yards and streets because they are being driven out of their normal area by road construction.
Also, deer season gets them on the move too. I have also seen many deer dead on the side of the road because some lazy hunter shot it, and didn't track it to put it out of its misery. They can die on the side of the road like that because of high embankments, medians, ditches etc. that they normally can hurdle, but in their condition they simply can't make it. (Note: If you find a deer dead by your mail box like a guy I know who moved to MO from NY, don't buy dirt in bags from Home Depot to "cover it up". Let's just say that a real bad idea. There's usually a number to call in your area.)
posted by jseven at 5:31 PM on June 9, 2008 [2 favorites]
My Dad would purposefully hit any deer that crossed our path. The reason was, as someone earlier suggested, that we got to keep the deer once the proper reports were taken. Deer was a main meat source for us back then.
When he got tired of jacking up all of our vehicles (we had a lot of one head lighted cars) he actually rigged the front of our truck with a spring loaded cattle guard so the deer would be tossed to the ground and he could purposefully run it over. You see, many times when you hit a deer, it simply gets up and wonders off. Like others have said, no visible wounds etc.
A couple of other notes as to why you may see more now than at other times… Could there be construction in the surrounding areas? Here we are noticing in a nearby neighborhood that deer are beginning to be a nuisance in yards and streets because they are being driven out of their normal area by road construction.
Also, deer season gets them on the move too. I have also seen many deer dead on the side of the road because some lazy hunter shot it, and didn't track it to put it out of its misery. They can die on the side of the road like that because of high embankments, medians, ditches etc. that they normally can hurdle, but in their condition they simply can't make it. (Note: If you find a deer dead by your mail box like a guy I know who moved to MO from NY, don't buy dirt in bags from Home Depot to "cover it up". Let's just say that a real bad idea. There's usually a number to call in your area.)
posted by jseven at 5:31 PM on June 9, 2008 [2 favorites]
Why so many now, there? Because there are patterns to deer migration that vary with terrain and season. They go one place to rut, another place to give birth to their fawns, etc. (At least there are patterns to some deer populations' migration; maybe some stay in one place? Not in the Eastern Sierra, but that's the only place I know much about.)
posted by salvia at 6:46 PM on June 9, 2008
posted by salvia at 6:46 PM on June 9, 2008
In some parts of the NE, the deer population has been rising for a long time because of hunting restrictions (and falling popularity of hunting) and the fact that all their natural predators are gone. Because of that, the deer are having to search harder for forage, which is causing many to move closer to human-populated areas. This is increasing the rate at which humans and deer encounter each other, including violent encounters with human-driven vehicles.
I know that New Jersey has had a real problem with this; it wouldn't be at all surprising if Connecticut did, too.
posted by Class Goat at 9:38 PM on June 9, 2008
I know that New Jersey has had a real problem with this; it wouldn't be at all surprising if Connecticut did, too.
posted by Class Goat at 9:38 PM on June 9, 2008
Completely unverifiable, but I've noticed a big increase in road kill of all kinds this Spring, compared with previous years.
posted by JimN2TAW at 9:46 PM on June 9, 2008
posted by JimN2TAW at 9:46 PM on June 9, 2008
he actually rigged the front of our truck with a spring loaded cattle guard so the deer would be tossed to the ground and he could purposefully run it over.
OK am I the only person reading that and thinking W.T.F.??? Purposefully running over the damn thing? Shit, have a sidearm in the glove and take the freaking thing out of its misery. Running the car back and forth over it to kill it is just freaking disgusting.
posted by allkindsoftime at 6:48 AM on June 10, 2008
OK am I the only person reading that and thinking W.T.F.??? Purposefully running over the damn thing? Shit, have a sidearm in the glove and take the freaking thing out of its misery. Running the car back and forth over it to kill it is just freaking disgusting.
posted by allkindsoftime at 6:48 AM on June 10, 2008
allkindsoftime- it depends on the hunting season. Can't just shoot a deer willy-nilly unless its in season. But if the law allows you to keep a accidental hit, you have to do it that way. Brutal, but humans are predators and if we are hungry, we'll use whatever tool we have.
I just heard a news report (here in Illinois) that the snowy winter combined with the high gas prices has emptied highway department budgets. So instead of removing dead animals, they are just moving them to the side of the road and letting nature solve the problem.
posted by gjc at 7:02 AM on June 10, 2008
I just heard a news report (here in Illinois) that the snowy winter combined with the high gas prices has emptied highway department budgets. So instead of removing dead animals, they are just moving them to the side of the road and letting nature solve the problem.
posted by gjc at 7:02 AM on June 10, 2008
I have hit three deerzie-weerzies over the last four years. I fucking hate these creatures. The first one was small (fawn, still had the spots) and caromed off my car like a billiard ball off a felt cushion. I actually saw the little bastard scampering off into the woods apparently unhurt. My car (1992 Saturn) was essentially undamaged. This was near Woodstock, NY.
Hit number 2 occured along Roite 202 just outside of New Hope, PA. The deer teleported out of nowhere in front of my car (1993 T-Bird), and pow. Destroyed my right front headlight, bent the frame a little, sprung the hood. That sucker limped off into the underbrush and was never seen again. Did about $500 worth of damage to my car.
Hit 3 occurred on Mechanicsville Road between Solebury PA and Lahaska PA, dead on. It was like hitting a rock. Good thing I was not driving fast. Another teleporting deer. (How do they do it?) The T-bird again! Over $800 worth of damage this time, and the deer -- again -- limped off into the woods. I wanted to follow and finish it off. I would have strangled it barehanded.
I don't know what all those dead deer are doing on the side of the road, but I say Hurray! The only good deer is a dead one! I hope no one got hurt in the accidents but I hate deer.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 7:07 AM on June 10, 2008
Hit number 2 occured along Roite 202 just outside of New Hope, PA. The deer teleported out of nowhere in front of my car (1993 T-Bird), and pow. Destroyed my right front headlight, bent the frame a little, sprung the hood. That sucker limped off into the underbrush and was never seen again. Did about $500 worth of damage to my car.
Hit 3 occurred on Mechanicsville Road between Solebury PA and Lahaska PA, dead on. It was like hitting a rock. Good thing I was not driving fast. Another teleporting deer. (How do they do it?) The T-bird again! Over $800 worth of damage this time, and the deer -- again -- limped off into the woods. I wanted to follow and finish it off. I would have strangled it barehanded.
I don't know what all those dead deer are doing on the side of the road, but I say Hurray! The only good deer is a dead one! I hope no one got hurt in the accidents but I hate deer.
posted by Guy_Inamonkeysuit at 7:07 AM on June 10, 2008
Although the "dead deer not all mangled" part of this question seems to be sufficiently answered, I'd also like to chime in and mention that deer also have been known to run into the side of cars in addition to being hit by them. I speak from experience. I imagine the thought process is something along the lines of "running running running, woods woods woods, running running running, woods road OH SH-! *thud*"
Thinking about the Merritt, with its fast speeds, high traffic and path-through-the-forest design, I'm thinking this happens pretty frequently.
posted by SpiffyRob at 7:09 AM on June 10, 2008
Thinking about the Merritt, with its fast speeds, high traffic and path-through-the-forest design, I'm thinking this happens pretty frequently.
posted by SpiffyRob at 7:09 AM on June 10, 2008
Deer don't always get torn to pieces when they are hit by a car. A lot of times they just get severe head/neck trauma and they die right there without much (if any) external bleeding.
The reason you are seeing them on the side of the road could be due to the street sweepers clearing them off the road.
posted by catrawr at 1:15 PM on February 10, 2009
The reason you are seeing them on the side of the road could be due to the street sweepers clearing them off the road.
posted by catrawr at 1:15 PM on February 10, 2009
Street sweepers on the Merritt? Not likely.
About a month ago there was a large lump in the center median that RAISED ITS HEAD right as I was 10 feet from it. Freaked me right out.
And there's been a deer and a fox carcass on the side of the road this week. Whenever I see roadkill on the Merritt, I think of this thread.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:38 PM on February 10, 2009
About a month ago there was a large lump in the center median that RAISED ITS HEAD right as I was 10 feet from it. Freaked me right out.
And there's been a deer and a fox carcass on the side of the road this week. Whenever I see roadkill on the Merritt, I think of this thread.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 8:38 PM on February 10, 2009
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If you hit a deer, chances are your car isn't all that drivable anymore. You, or a cop, are going to be stopped there. You, or a cop, are going to get the deer out of the road, if it didn't fly off the road when hit.
But you, or a cop, are not going to dispose of the body. It stays there until some different division comes along and cleans it up.
posted by These Premises Are Alarmed at 1:54 PM on June 9, 2008