Oh Deer! Pleasant Ridge and Hazel Park Get Unusual Visitors
(Crystal A. Proxmire, July 4, 2014)
Residents in Peasant Ridge and Hazel Park have reported unexpected guests: white tail deer.
A doe and her fawn have been spotted in Hazel Park on the west side of the city, including on Mapledale. Hazel Park Animal Control does not capture or relocate wild deer. “We are aware of the deer on the west side of the city. They are a healthy mom and fawn pair. The best thing to do is leave them alone,” they posted on their Facebook page on July 2. A follow-up message said that they occasionally have deer in the area, but they are much more common in Ferndale and areas along the railroad tracks.
Hazel Park Animal Control photographed the deer on W. Pearl Street near West End. (see photo below).
A doe was also spotted in a backyard on Kensington in Pleasant Ridge Thursday afternoon and returning again Thursday night, with rumors of sightings earlier in the week.
Eric Dickerson photographed the doe in his backyard. “It was west of Woodward for about a week, with sightings in PR and Oak Park. Today it crossed Woodward heading East. The PR PD says they are just letting it roam free, hoping it finds its way back to the RR tracks and on its way. It was headed that way last time I saw it,” he said.
Jason Dutra photographed one on Meadowlark in Oak Park earlier in the week as well.
SEMCOG, The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, gathered data on deer in the area for 2012 to help communities understand the increase of auto accidents involving deer. Their report showed that in 2012 there were 1683 car-deer accidents in Oakland County.
The report says that “rapid development in previously rural areas,” is contributing the increase of deer in suburban areas. Deer population has also increased dramatically over the past 40 years in all areas. Statewide there are four times more deer than in the 1970s, and in SE Michigan, the population is 10x greater.
The Michigan Deer Crash Coalition was established in 1996. Their website, http://www.michigandeercrash.com/, gives more information about the growing deer population. Included on their site is a report from the Rochester Hills Deer Management Advisory Committee with multiple recommendations for deer population control and reducing damage caused by deer. The full report is available at http://www.michigandeercrash.com/RochesterHIlls_2012.pdf.
EDITORS NOTE: This is a topic that we’d be interested in learning more about, as well as sharing more photos from. Please contact us at editor@oc115.com if you have anything to add.