HILL COUNTRY DEER
One of the most lovely pleasures the Texas Hill Country has given me is the numerous white-tailed deer that share my little corner of the world. Paddy and I take walks in the hills near my townhouse almost daily. It's fun to encounter them every day and see them dashing across the street and into the bushes when we get close. Since they are protected from hunters in my town, they live to see another season for the most part. However, during mating season, Horseshoe Bay captures an unknown number of deer by erecting giant nets elevated by poles with the ground saturated in corn to lure them into the netted area. I have a friend who makes it a habit of honking her horn as she drives past the nets. She's happy to save them from the inevitable fate of capture and give them one more day of life. I don't know what they do with the captured deer, even though a neighbor told me they were relocated and/or killed with the meat given to the needy in the nearby town of Marble Falls. I called the city to check this out, but I hung up when I realized this was one bit of information I'd rather not have.
There are approximately 4 million whitetail deer in the Hill Country and West Texas. They prefer lowlands with more than 50% brush canopy cover, while mule deer prefer the higher ranges with 40% or less brushy cover. Most ranchers feel that whitetail deer are inferior to mule deer and carefully ensure they only have mule deer. Mule deer are larger than whitetails. When the two species live in proximity to each other, they will mate, but it's rare, with less than 8% of the deer population in those areas being a hybrid of the mule deer and whitetail deer.
Contrary to popular belief, whitetails do not drive out mule deer. Instead, the change in vegetation determines which species proliferates. It's the whitetail that's winning at this moment in time.
While I love seeing the deer around my house daily, I don't want to see one of them splattered on top of the hood of my car with one or all of its legs sticking through my windshield. The national statistics for automobiles hitting deer reveal a 1 in 400 chance of it occurring. In Horseshoe Bay, I'm betting that it's much higher. The saying is that it isn't if you hit a deer, but when. In one year, I've had almost 5 close encounters with a deer at night while driving my car. Night driving is no longer an option unless it's an emergency.
Deer love to eat forbs (weeds) for the most part, although when hungry, they'll eat leaves and wood (or cat food I've left out for the feral cats in my neighborhood!). During periods of drought and low vegetation, they've been known to eat the bark of the detestable juniper ashe tree. The juniper ashe is the source of the dreaded "cedar fever" in Texas. Many of us hate it when November comes around, bringing a myriad of allergies associated with releasing pollen from the unspeakable tree. In fact, it scores a rating of 9 out of 10 on the allergy scale. Coughing, runny nose, and general malaise are the manifestations. Last year, I coughed for 4 months, but this year, only 2 months. Hopefully, I'm developing immunity!
There are signs and rules everywhere telling us to not feed the deer. Yet, one of my neighbors likes to spread "deer corn" on her lawn. It gives her pleasure to look at the deer from her back door as they're eating. I learned today that deer corn is toxic to deer, although they'll eat it. It not only contains toxins, but it has very little protein. I'm not looking forward to giving her the bad news.
Hunters aren't the only ones seeking to kill deer. Coyotes, mountain lions, and bobcats roam the hills near me. One of the Animal Control Officers recently told me that they were prohibited from euthanizing deer when it's apparent that they are injured. He had been keeping a close eye on a doe that had most of her stomach exposed from either a mountain lion attack or barbed wire. Yet, the official ruling of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was that "nature should take its course." It seems cruel, but I'm confident they have their reasons.
The bucks are not so innocent. Aggressive bucks during mating season kill approximately 15-20 people a year. Silly me, just this past November (the start of the mating season), I was within 30 feet of a buck trying to capture that perfect picture for Facebook. I was afraid of encountering a bear hiking in The Cascades almost two years ago. When I moved to Texas, rattlesnakes became a concern. Then, I discovered that mountain lions were living nearby. Now, I have to worry about bucks? Unfair!
As you drive the highways and backroads of the Hill Country, it's common to see dead deer on or alongside the road. I read once that Native Americans would pray for the deer they were about to kill and thank the Creator for giving them this animal for food. I must admit that I say a little prayer for the lives of deer lost along the roads.
In the spring, we'll be rewarded with beautifully spotted fawns (unfortunately, those spots disappear after a few months). From today forward, though, I'm giving a wide berth to bucks! It's still a never-ending joy to see the white tails of the deer jumping high over brushy cover as they run away from Paddy and me.
While I love seeing the deer around my house daily, I don't want to see one of them splattered on top of the hood of my car with one or all of its legs sticking through my windshield. The national statistics for automobiles hitting deer reveal a 1 in 400 chance of it occurring. In Horseshoe Bay, I'm betting that it's much higher. The saying is that it isn't if you hit a deer, but when. In one year, I've had almost 5 close encounters with a deer at night while driving my car. Night driving is no longer an option unless it's an emergency.
Deer love to eat forbs (weeds) for the most part, although when hungry, they'll eat leaves and wood (or cat food I've left out for the feral cats in my neighborhood!). During periods of drought and low vegetation, they've been known to eat the bark of the detestable juniper ashe tree. The juniper ashe is the source of the dreaded "cedar fever" in Texas. Many of us hate it when November comes around, bringing a myriad of allergies associated with releasing pollen from the unspeakable tree. In fact, it scores a rating of 9 out of 10 on the allergy scale. Coughing, runny nose, and general malaise are the manifestations. Last year, I coughed for 4 months, but this year, only 2 months. Hopefully, I'm developing immunity!
There are signs and rules everywhere telling us to not feed the deer. Yet, one of my neighbors likes to spread "deer corn" on her lawn. It gives her pleasure to look at the deer from her back door as they're eating. I learned today that deer corn is toxic to deer, although they'll eat it. It not only contains toxins, but it has very little protein. I'm not looking forward to giving her the bad news.
Hunters aren't the only ones seeking to kill deer. Coyotes, mountain lions, and bobcats roam the hills near me. One of the Animal Control Officers recently told me that they were prohibited from euthanizing deer when it's apparent that they are injured. He had been keeping a close eye on a doe that had most of her stomach exposed from either a mountain lion attack or barbed wire. Yet, the official ruling of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was that "nature should take its course." It seems cruel, but I'm confident they have their reasons.
The bucks are not so innocent. Aggressive bucks during mating season kill approximately 15-20 people a year. Silly me, just this past November (the start of the mating season), I was within 30 feet of a buck trying to capture that perfect picture for Facebook. I was afraid of encountering a bear hiking in The Cascades almost two years ago. When I moved to Texas, rattlesnakes became a concern. Then, I discovered that mountain lions were living nearby. Now, I have to worry about bucks? Unfair!
As you drive the highways and backroads of the Hill Country, it's common to see dead deer on or alongside the road. I read once that Native Americans would pray for the deer they were about to kill and thank the Creator for giving them this animal for food. I must admit that I say a little prayer for the lives of deer lost along the roads.
In the spring, we'll be rewarded with beautifully spotted fawns (unfortunately, those spots disappear after a few months). From today forward, though, I'm giving a wide berth to bucks! It's still a never-ending joy to see the white tails of the deer jumping high over brushy cover as they run away from Paddy and me.
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