To the casual observer, the difference between the white-tail and mule deer is assumed to lie in the comparative length, size and shape of the ears.
It doesn't. The crucial difference between the two species lies somewhere between them.
| As a cross-country driver of some experience, I've always found the behavior of mule deer to be disconcertingly placid. The creatures gather in small groups to graze in the ditches and at the road edge, lifting heads to stare you in the eye with a mixture of bemusement and mild alarm, They're almost bovine in their behavior, but don't let that fool you - they enjoy the head game. |  |
Quite unlike white-tails.
The normal mood of the white-tail deer alternates between panic attack and severe clinical depression. To complicate matters, the species is particularly sensitive to "seasonal affected disorder", the season that affects them most known as "hunting season".
Which leads me to last Friday morning. I was cruising along the narrow secondary highway about two miles west of Souris, Manitoba when the early morning light was interrupted in a demonstration of just how suicidal this species can become when all three mental states converge.
The flash of movement was four white-tails, running hard in single file. The first deer crossed the shoulder about 75 feet in front of my 2000 Dodge Caravan - a vehicle with a front profile specially designed to scoop large game up from the pavement and deposit it in the driver's lap.
At such moments, the thought processes that occur during normal decision making are replaced by the road-conditioned instinct that takes over when forced to select from a set of distressingly bad choices.
PRIORIZE.
One ...SEMI ONCOMING stay in the damned lane and two BRAKEHARDNOW and get behind that lead s.o.b before he comes through the windshield now three - get outatheBAM!
As is typical of such situations, there was no time for a third priority.
Just as I lifted off the brake to jam down the gas, the second deer smashed into the passenger door, taking out the mirror before rolling down the length of the van.
I suspect three and four probably met their fate intersecting the space-time continuum of the tractor-trailer unit. I don't know. I didn't go back to survey the carnage. My van had suffered quite enough of that as it was.
But all things considered, the best outcome possible under the circumstances, with bonus points for coming out of it with a vehicle that's still drivable. The only question remaining is whether the insurance adjuster decides to write it off, in which case, I may be a bit "SAD" myself. I've only had it 5 months.
Been there......good thing they only nailed the side and not the windshield as you feared.
Is this going to get us into another post about SGI?
Poor deers...stats show they meet their fate with more cars than guns. Same thing happenned to my brother-in-law...on his way to the hunt...it was the only venison he got for the week...
Oh, deer! LDA taken out by SDA. Thank heavens you're okay.
I would be interested in stats on injuries/deaths caused by big game collisions since gun control laws have made hunting such a pain in the a**. (I do recall seeing something indicating that vehicle-deer collisions in Sask are up in recent years.)
I know that in our home area, they see only a fraction of the number of hunters they used to.
It would be irony of the first order if the laws designed to reduce deaths by "gun violence" had the unintended consequence of increasing deaths by deer collision.
I hit a deer just outside of Provost many years ago with my Dad's car. The animal did about as much damage to the car as your van. The scary moment for me was when I stopped the car to check the damage. I saw that the carcass was still on the road so I walked over to drag it off to the side. No sense someone else wrecking their car. I grab on to the antlers and as I start tugging, the deer's eyes open. As I stand there freaked out and motionless, it jumped up and ran off into the ditch and the field beyond. That was one tough deer.
PS I see someone else is posting with the qwerty name so I'll be qwerty1.
A fitting addition to the "Road-kill Diaries". Glad you weren't hit Kate. Had pretty much the same thing happen to me some years ago. There were four of them in broad daylight, newyears eve. Missed all but one. My daughters shed some tears that day.
I've seen countless vehicles smashed up by white tail collisions, though I've so far avoided it myself. White tail deer are a most persistent species. They multiply like rats, and no amount of hunting or vehiclular herbavoricide seems to quell their numbers.
They frequency of said events is, I believe, simply a side effect of the numerical quantity of the beasts. I suppose its just something we all have to live with.
A tip for anyone inexperienced in the matter. If you see one deer make a dash for it ahead of your vehicle, slow down, there are sure to be more to follow. Either that, or the confused critter will double back on his tracks.
Vans can be replaced. Very happy to know that you are OK. "Cull by car" clear an expensive proposition.
Nearly exactly the same thing happened to me.
Driving home from work down a dark country road I saw deer jumping the fence onto the road ahead of me. I slowed down. BAM.
One had jumped the fence and hit me while still in the air. The poor thing broke it's neck. I had to put it out of it's misery.
Car was trashed, tho.
In my travels across this country, I have had deer-vehicle contact made between my various vehicles and all Canadian species of deer that I am aware of...mule deer, Columbian black-tail, and white tail.
The white tail remains the only species for which I can say that the deer hit my car and not the other way around.
Make that " I'm glad you didn't get "hurt", Kate
Kate, what a gal! I'm really glad you're OK.
Sympathies Kate,for your van damage.Been there myself last yr.Coming home late eve,raining,slippery greasy dirt road,and only doing 30-40kms..deer appeared out of nowhere..everything happened so fast,I thot deer had just glanced off front of my 05 Jeep Liberty.Not so..thank God I was only 8 kms from home,as grill had smashed(plastic),and gone thru rad.Over$4,ooo.in damage!
I live in SE corner of Man.and it is not unusual in a 60km drive to work,to see at least 6-8 dead deer every day!They are a tremendous hazard here,and can't say I'm sorry to see all the city-boys out here hunting.we have had people killed,and I'm sure the ins.costs to vehicles in this area alone are monumental.
We are also blessed with bears out here..I do love to see them,but they are also a nuisance,and few killed by traffic also.Just one of the costs of living in "the boonies",wouldn't trade it tho!
Sympathies Kate,for your van damage.Been there myself last yr.Coming home late eve,raining,slippery greasy dirt road,and only doing 30-40kms..deer appeared out of nowhere..everything happened so fast,I thot deer had just glanced off front of my 05 Jeep Liberty.Not so..thank God I was only 8 kms from home,as grill had smashed(plastic),and gone thru rad.Over$4,ooo.in damage!
I live in SE corner of Man.and it is not unusual in a 60km drive to work,to see at least 6-8 dead deer every day!They are a tremendous hazard here,and can't say I'm sorry to see all the city-boys out here hunting.we have had people killed,and I'm sure the ins.costs to vehicles in this area alone are monumental.
We are also blessed with bears out here..I do love to see them,but they are also a nuisance,and few killed by traffic also.Just one of the costs of living in "the boonies",wouldn't trade it tho!
Kate 1
Deer 0
Perhaps you should consider changing the name to "Large Dead Animals?"
It's the same deal with Moose here in Newfoundland. Stupid little buggers.
Be very glad you weren't driving a Yugo! :) Glad you're safe. When's the BBQ?
Be very glad you weren't driving a Yugo! :) Glad you're safe. When's the BBQ?
You bought a fuckin' minivan?
I'm so very disappointed.
And just a little frightened, to be honest.
Just be happy it wasn't a moose. My brother in law was killed in a collision with a moose between Edmonton and Grand Prairie in 1993. They weigh a lot and it's all concentrated in their body with relatively skinny legs. Snap off their legs and you have several thousand pounds of animal coming right at you. I'm told about a dozen people meet such a fate annually on that route.
Relax. It's the dog show van. I don't drive it in real life.
It's not just Saskatchewan, Kate.
Ontario is suffering the same fate.
Deer-car collisions up - Hunters needed:
http://www.ofah.org/Sunday.Hunt/
Glad you're okay, Kate.
Care are replaceable. Bloggers are not.
My husband has hit one, been hit by one. One winter night coming home from work and going down a coulee road I noticed the eyes in the ditch, slowed down from the 15mph I was driving and put on the hazard lights etc, as an idiot was trying to pass me in the snow storm. 3 deer crossed the road, and the idiot just missed them. It was a male driver, and later I told him that in future when he sees a car in front flashing hazard lights and slowing down, in poor visibility, to pay attention and don't pass. My son had a rabbit go thru the radiator and it caused more damage than the deer did. Also, another son hit a deer at the bottom of the coulee, called the cops and they put the deer out of his misery. Car was still drivable so he headed for town, only to have another deer jump out and hit him broadside 10 miles up the road. Deer crossig signs all along that road. In Australia they have problems with kangaroos being hit by trucks. Glad your ok Kate.
My niece and her husband did 10K damage to their new car the day they bought it.
I had one run into the passenger door of my '57 chevy 40 years ago. Dented the whole door in. I just took off the interior panel and pushed/popped it out. Almost as good as new. Old cars could take a hit from a deer a lot better than the new ones, but not nearly so good in a head-on collision.
Kate, I'm glad you are safe. Deer can be deadly. Years ago we had a young father in our neighborhood killed on Halloween taking his kids trick or treating. A deer went threw his windshield. They've become suburban pests.
Between deer as road hazards and Lymes disease carriers, I no longer have any warm affectionate nostalgia towards Bambi anymore.
I had a safer incident last summer. My war department and I were headed east from Vancouver when at about the mid point of BC we saw a herd of the ugliest deer ive ever seen . we had plenty of time to slow down and get past them. Kate, on my word they were licking the yellow line. They had hair hanging from them ,spotty coats, they were kick ass ugly. So much for my idea of the noble deer.
Last year, while I was blazing along at 65 mph in the midst of a misty, dusky desert evening, a large doe mule deer decided to commit suicide by Silverado. The last thing that mulie saw was its a**hole going through its lips. The truck suffered a busted headlight and a slightly bent bumper. I was a bit stunned by the sudden carnage, but it went away.
Kate,
The good news is you are all right, these graceful deer can be a big mess when they run into you. .. I have no idea how their brains work but they really have no sense at all when it comes to fast moving vehicles. .. I have had my share of dodging them both up North and here in Texas. .. You can speed up or slow down, hit you brakes or try to swerve and they can still whack the crap out of you, been there and the deer done that.
Even small ones are dangerous so Thank the Lord you are not injured. If the people are okay the rest is just metal and venison. .. I really don’t think these wonderful tasting, elusive deer were created for our fast paced world but they thrive and survive in the most populous places and give us all a taste of the Lord’s wild kingdom. ..I love hunting these magnificent animals because it is a most humbling experience, they usually get away and that is what they do for a living.
Be glad it wasn't a moose.
had a whitetail leap, hit and slide across my windshield without even cracking the glass... saw the eyes reflecting at me in the dark and went into adrenaline fueled, nuclear, push your foot through the firewall breaking mode. late night and alone on the road were points in my favour.
also know of someone who hit a draft horse that came through on top of him... not such a happy ending.
lots of folks lose it trying to avoid the collision and end up single vehicle rollover... usually worse than just taking it on the chin.
any time you walk away from one of these is happy time... major pucker factor though.
Kate,
Glad you're OK. I agree with Dante - LDA has a nice ring to it...
If the INsurance doesn't pay for repairs, maybe you should just paint a big Band-Aid over the dent?
Bodyshop guy was just telling me about a woman who was bringing her car in to the Painless Dent Repair place for some hail damage repair when she hit a deer. She dropped it off any way and got a somewhat agrieved call later in the day saying that the front end was a little more than he could handle... While the deer dent was being dealt with, she was in a rental car and hit another deer. If she didn't have bad luck, she'd have no luck at all.
McMillan, consider yourself lucky, this time!
The rotating chair just changed paws from the Richardson Ground Squirrels to the Muskrats. (Rats with their heads in the water.)
We said go with Crows, carpet bomb the windscreen then closely follow with a flush of Partridges’ flying out of the sunset. Put a Moose in each ditch and bingo, who’s crying now.
But oh no, the Muskrats squandered their chair-animalship and insisted four White Tails could handle the job without any of us being accused of acting like a bunch of carnivores.
Well, where are those poor bucks now? Sure they’re rutting away with 72 young does but we’re back to burrow one.
Watch your toes,
bambi, thumper, dakota, trixie,
Co Chairs
Herbivorous Action Committee, Prairie Wildlife Collective
My war story is a bit more downsized:
Years ago, I had a collision between my 72 Ford Pinto and a large grouse that mis-timed flying across a country road.
The result was one dead grouse, a destroyed grill and blood and guts all over the radiator. You wouldn't think a bird could have so much blood. Helluva mess.
Going down that road a year or two later, the almost identical thing happened. But this time, the bird was about 1 second quicker and for a fraction of a second, I heard the flutter of it's wings as it went by the driver's side of the windshield and my rolled-down driver's window. That close...
Last stat I heard for Sask. was every other insurance accident claim involved hitting wildlife. It seems like such a waste. Why don't they let every farmer harvest several of the dozens of animals (some call them "Queen's Cows") he/she feeds every year.
Good on ya' Kate,
Handled it like a pro. Didn't get smunched by the semi, didn't roll the van and didn't have one come through the windshield.
Also glad to hear that it's really a dog-show van.
Pat
Well, see, I was going to get all sympathetic until I saw it was a mini-van that got injured. Those things are evil and deserve every bit of damage they get. If SGI does write it off Kate, I recommend a nice Surburban instead...
ps: Glad you're OK Kate
Well, see, I was going to get all sympathetic until I saw it was a mini-van that got injured. Those things are evil and deserve every bit of damage they get. If SGI does write it off Kate, I recommend a nice Surburban instead...
ps: Glad you're OK Kate
Sorry about your van, and that you'll have to deal with SGI. Dealing with SGI would be a comparable punishment to hanging in Iraq.
I had a deer close call a week or so ago, that made a "whoosh" noise in my driver side window that was closed.
If you have the $50 deductible policy and you collide with anything that bleeds (most humans excepted) SGI will fix it and not charge the deductible. About the only reasonable thing I've had them do I've had it done four times. Two deer, one grouse, and one duck. Don't know what the bag limit is.
Like you Kate, I'm a survivor. Glad for both of us, and all the other survivors who hunt with expensive weapons.
Len Pryor
If you have the $50 deductible policy and you collide with anything that bleeds (most humans excepted) SGI will fix it and not charge the deductible. About the only reasonable thing I've had them do. I've had it done four times. Two deer, one grouse, and one duck. Don't know what the bag limit is.
Like you Kate, I'm a survivor. Glad for both of us, and all the other survivors who hunt with expensive weapons.
Len Pryor
Glad you weren't hurt. I've managed to hit two of the buggers in the last six years, and that's just driving around Victoria. There are small herds of deer wandering around all over town, ignoring humans and enjoying buffet meals in well tended gardens. Even the navy base has it's own herd of 6-10...most were caught a couple of years ago and had tracking collars put on them to see where they go.
Good to hear eveyone's all right and you still managed to be on your way without ruining your weekend. Never fails that something like that seems to happen on your first day out.
The deer population is way out of whack all over. I wonder how much would get done about these pests, if insurance companies were to put pressure on Government or even come up with some solutions? Similar to what they've done in Alberta with hail. Moose are also a problem in Alberta. Recently there was an article by the local Fish and Game assosciation about pressuring government to put up wildlife reflectors in problem areas.
HEH. I had a similar collision with a deer back in '95, right after I brought home my new T'bird. The deer rolled down the right side of the car as it did your van. I was so pissed off I stopped, threw the car in reverse, backed over it, threw it in drive and ran over it again.
The power window on the right side never did work quite right again.
Good response time, Kate. My sister-in-law whacked one here in the Ottawa Valley last Wednesday too; all she had time to say was, "Kids, mommy's going to hit this..."
WHAM.
Not sure the overpopulation is due to gun control laws hereabouts though; my brother and all his friends take as many as they can get tags for, and there's more every year. I think it's likely the refuges created by the tree knockdowns during the 1998 Ice Storm (which affected tens of thousands of square kilometers) provided fantastic breeding and feeding, and good protection from predators.
Be that as it may - best possible outcome in both cases. Good show.
- DN
We could always declare the whitetail a 'nation', then, .... well never mind....
We could always declare the whitetail a 'nation', then, .... well never mind....
Good thinking--fast thinking--Kate!! 'Glad to see you fared better than your van.
Is all this driving worth it? How about a few dogs by the hearth? Hang all the champion ribbons over the fireplace, sit back with a good glass of wine, and reminisce about "the good old days" and "the good old dogs."
Kate:
So it has come to this!
Gaia is angry with us - she is obviously sending in suicide deer to destroy our polluting minivans, trucks and SUVs!
If only you'd been driving a Prius!
Deer eh? Wonder where Garth had them penned up?