'They're Pretty Much All Over The Place': Deer Mating Season Means Unwanted Visitors For Many
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Deer mating season is upon us, and for some, that could mean unwanted visitors near homes or on the road.
It's not exactly what you'd expect to find running around the streets of Fort Lee, but in the wee hours of Thursday morning, Mobile 2 captured a deer on camera. It tried to get away, and Mobile 2 tried to keep up as it continued its tour of the city.
CBS2's John Elliott snapped a picture of a family of deer hanging out in West Caldwell a few days ago.
"I see deer every single day," said Chestnut Ridge resident Justine Bakshi. "They're pretty much all over the place."
It does seem like that to many, especially Kristen McInerney of Tuxedo, N.Y.
"You know when they say a deer in headlights - I never knew what that meant, but it felt like the deer was looking at me," McInerney told CBS2's Vanessa Murdock. On Monday, at dawn, she was driving her son to school in Tuxedo when a deer crossed the road.
"I said 'Wow, look at the deer, it's huge,'" she told Murdock. "It turned around and jumped into my car."
No human was hurt and the deer ran off. As for her brand new car? It could be a total loss.
"It was scary," McInerney said.
Along East Allendale Road in Saddle River, a prominently featured sign urges drivers to use caution.
"Deer rutting season is coming that means deer are mating," said Animal Control Officer Carol Tyler. She's been on the job since the late '80's. "The males become really interested in females and wind up running out in front of cars... They'll actually run themselves to exhaustion chasing females."
On Wednesday, Tyler helped rescue a buck wrapped around a tree. Its antler got caught in a netting put up to keep deer out.
Tyler urges something be done county wide, and offered tips on what we can do to help.
First, don't feed them. Then, look at your landscaping.
"If deer come in your yard and decimate the landscape, it's probably not a good idea to replant it," Tyler explained.
It may cause the deer to come running.
Tyler said we just hit the peak of mating season, and deer will continue to breed until the first really cold air hits.