 One of Over 20 Million
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Dec. 26, 2003 — Following fatal traffic accidents nationwide caused by an out-of-control deer population, one U.S. county has called in local hunters to keep its deer in check.
The Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks in Maryland has set up a dedicated hunting zone just north of Washington, D.C. where keen-eyed sportsmen are set loose in the woods in a bid to stem rising numbers of deer.
Drops of fresh red blood dot the snow-covered forest floor and slightly further away a deer in death throes has slumped against a tree, struck by a fatal bullet from the hunter's gun.
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"This is a good day," declared Henry Bouchat, a 71-year-old hunter dressed in camouflage, but sporting a bright orange cap as a visible sign to other hunters.
"This will be the Christmas meal," Bouchat said looking down on the 77-pound deer.
The hunter had had some difficulty locating the fallen animal, but Bouchat eventually found the deer on a patch of ground in this wood close to the town of Clarksville, Md., some 25 miles of Washington.
The United States' deer population is now estimated to be over 20 million, according to Petersen's Hunting magazine.
And according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, some 150 people die each year in more than 1.5 million vehicle accidents involving the animals at a cost of $1.1 billion.
Faced with such statistics, Howard County has decided to fight back.
In a wood near Clarksville, Phil Norman, an official with the Howard County parks service allots each hunter a location where they can lie in wait.
The hunters meet before sunrise at 5:30 am in a car park bordering the wood. Each hunter then climbs a tree attributed to him, and sits on a board some three meters above ground to await the quarry.
The hunters are not allowed to fire close to houses, and the three officials try to steer any deer they encounter during the hunt back towards the hunters' gun sights.
There are an estimated 75 deer in the woods here, two or three times the number that is required to maintain a balance with nature.
The clock strikes 11:00 am and the day's hunting draws to a close. Norman is left to recover a deer that was cut down on a riverbank. He cuts the animal down the middle with his knife.
The deer, aged about three-and-a-half, its head facing backwards, is sunken into the snow. Its blood flows. With latex gloves, Norman takes out the animal's intestines so the meat is not spoiled. The intestines are left on the ground for hungry foxes.
Norman places a girth around the deer's neck and hefts it back to his pickup truck.
Back at the car park, the hunters appear happy, 15 deer were killed. One sure-shot hunter — the day's hero — has beaten a record by claiming seven deer.
The day's kill will do little to dent the overall 20-million-plus deer population, but the hunters signal they will return tomorrow to continue the job.
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Name: White-Tailed Deer (Odocileus virginianus)
Primary Classification: Cervidae (Deer) Location: Southern Canada to northern South America. Habitat: Woodlands and grasslands that offer partial concealment. Diet: A host of plant species including buckbrush, dogwood, chokecherry, plum red cedar, pine and agricultural crops. Size: Up to 8 ft in length and 310 lbs in weight. Description: Rusty brown in summer to buff in winter. White belly and white patch on throat. Variable white areas on face. Large tail has white underside. Males, or bucks, have antlers whereas females, or does, do not. Cool Facts: When threatened they raise their tails, flashing the white underside as a warning to others in the herd. Conservation Status: Common |
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