How do deer survive in dense burbs?

Sep 30, 2007
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I'm looking out my back window right now and SIXTEEN deer just went running by (followed by some rambunctious teens). I live in a dense burb and this is a small woodsy park in back. Now, it is fairly easily connected to other bigger parks, but STILL! SIXTEEN???? No wonder I see them on the roads all the time.

The only land animals I ever see here are deer - squirrels and fox. I have seen exactly one rabbit since we moved here and it was running from a fox in the woods out back! But DEER is what I see the most. These huge animals just roaming around.
 
I always thought it was because the gestation period is only 6 months....so 1 female can have roughly 2 babies a year... but to answer more about your question - 16 deer isn't really that uncommon. And it's just sad, I know around here, because we're just destroying their natural habitat and that's leading to more and more getting killed because they can't find a place to live.......honestly I've thought before that we might be able to control it a little more if residential hunting was given it's own season. Perhaps a few days every now and again?
 
There couldn't be residential hunting here. I live in a densely populated burb (Fairfax, VA) with over a million people and if they missed the animal, they could shoot into someone's yard/home. There's just no natural predators, but then, would I want to be seeing wolves out my window? (I have nothing against wolves, but....) There are coyote around this area though. I haven't seen them, but I know they are in the city of D.C - now THAT'S amazing.
 
^ That's why-- it's because they breed like crazy and there's no hunting. They probably live in the parks and travel back and forth between the wooded areas, looking for food.

It's fairly suburban here, and there's HUNDREDS of deer, if not thousands. It's sad that they get hit by cars, but cars are their only natural predators at this point. Otherwise we'd be even more overrun by them. People think it's horrible that I say such things, but deer carry bazillions of ticks and ruin everyone's gardens and crops. They're beautiful, gentle animals, but I don't like having so many around!!
 
My area is the same..... residential hunting would NEVER work - but in theory it would help control the deer population. I'm not a fan of deer - maybe that's why I'm hoping for a solution soon.
 
we have deer here too in the northern Atlanta burbs but there are a lot of car accidents involving them. i've seen a few and they are not pretty for either the car or deer. this used to be very rural but the past 20 years have seen phenomenal developement.
 
We have deer in the city villa areas here, they feed off the roses and flowers. It has been rapidly expanded the past 50 years though and there are still a lot of green areas they can be in. Sometimes they even venture into the city cnter also. I much prefer them to rats and foxes and I'm happy animals such as these can co exist with humans in a more urban setting. =)
 
I have no idea! But the area where I went to college is like that too and I never understood where they lived. There were people everywhere!
 
wow. I only saw about two or three deer in the back yard area when I lived in GA. I remember almost hitting a deer within a month of getting my license. It was nighttime and I was going to visit my brother - scary!
 
There couldn't be residential hunting here. I live in a densely populated burb (Fairfax, VA) with over a million people and if they missed the animal, they could shoot into someone's yard/home. There's just no natural predators, but then, would I want to be seeing wolves out my window? (I have nothing against wolves, but....) There are coyote around this area though. I haven't seen them, but I know they are in the city of D.C - now THAT'S amazing.


I grew up in fairfax... I miss seeing the deer in my backyard (I lived across the st. from Eakin Park on Prosperity Ave.). I have some pretty gross stories to tell about deer incidents, though.

I saw a wolf once at my house when I was about 10 years old. I was walking my dog and we just backed away verrrrry slowly...
 
They'd leave if they didn't have something to eat so they are getting fed somewhere.

We have coyotes, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, road runners and skunks. I'd take some deer! :yes:
 
You are all very fortunate to have deers, foxes and other wildlife living in your backyard. Surely, it's much more pleasant than living in a cold, barren concrete jungle, devoid of wildlife. In Nara, Japan, deers roam the town and co-exist peacefully with human. In fact, the deers have become somewhat of a tourist attraction.
 
You are all very fortunate to have deers, foxes and other wildlife living in your backyard. Surely, it's much more pleasant than living in a cold, barren concrete jungle, devoid of wildlife. In Nara, Japan, deers roam the town and co-exist peacefully with human. In fact, the deers have become somewhat of a tourist attraction.

What a lovely thought :smile: Yes, I enjoy seeing deer in my backyard as well. An interesting thing that my eco-friendly college professor told us in my Ecocriticism Lit class (go figure) is that the deer we see roaming in the particular areas I live in (Central Jersey) are actually out of their natural habitat. The area I live in, originally, was NOT inhabited by deer. They lived in more northern areas and because of all of the industry, they have moved south and continue to move south. So they are, in effect, searching for a home. It's sad. We've not ony cleared out their natural habitat but are now forcing them to search for a new one. There's something beautiful (and necessary) about having wooded areas, and we're clearing them out left and right. It actually worries me.
 
I live in a development and there are woods in the back of the houses across the street from me but they lead to a major side road. Quite a few times there have been deer in the neighbor's yard right across from my house. Her house does not have a fence so the deer seem to like her lawn. Another neighbor said they saw two deer on my lawn one early morning. I mean they have to cross the street and if they got spooked the only way to get back to the woods is through this one yard.