Deer Behavior Has A Lot

To Do With Our Behavior

To the Editor:

I was intrigued by the letter in last week’s Bee reporting that people from Vermont are warned not to come to Connecticut because of the deer. I was talking recently to a friend in Florida who thought that we were lucky not to have alligators, so I suppose it is really all a question of perspective.

Fortunately we have the means at hand to deal with deer. It is important to understand that deer are best suited to living at the forest edge. When we subdivide land, while we reduce that net amount of forest, we actually increase the forest periphery. The birth rate of deer is directly related to the amount of food available. If we grow shrubs and plants that deer like in our gardens and parks, they will come and eat them and as a result have more babies. Thus by our very style of living, we have created a hospitable environment for deer, which ensures that they will increase in numbers even as we do if we continue doing what we are doing.

We cannot bring land development to a screeching halt, but we can be sure we leave enough open space land to provide corridors for wildlife, and we can plant more responsibly. The suggestion that we trap and relocate deer to “an extreme and remote wooded area” is not an effective solution. Deer do not respect municipal or state boundaries, but rather go where there is food. The axiom that nature abhors a vacuum holds true here. Even if such a project were possible, deer from surrounding areas would quickly move in to fill the vacuum. In addition, members of related species, such as moose or elk, could move in. There are already moose in Connecticut and elk in nearby states, both species closely related to deer. Rather than continue to wring our hands in despair and complain, we need to come together as a community and make responsible changes in our behavior to ensure our health and comfort and that of our children.

Sincerely

Marjorie Cramer, MD

38 Huntingtown Road, Newtown                                   April 25, 2007