I was shocked! Who could be anti-Bambi!?!?
Well, what the article says is that we are doing such a good job "conserving" the deer - going so far as to clear meadows for them in the forest and plant food that they like - that their numbers have increased to the point where they are ruining the forest as a habitat for some kinds of birds!
The article also says that this conservation was done in large part so that there would be a lot of deer for hunters, and there are fewer hunters in the newer generation. It points out that we have also eliminated the deer's natural predators.
I guess all this makes sense to me, because nature is all about balance and equilibrium. I went out to find deer tracks for this post. I found these within about ten minutes...
Guess what I found EVERYWHERE while looking for deer tracks? STRAWBERRIES!! I ate some, so that I could keep up my strength for deer tracking. Clearly, I was born several generations too late.
I prepared this post for Nature Notes over at RamblingWoods.com. Go check it out!
It seems the balance of nature can be easily upset by good intentions! Nice captures of the deer tracks and wild strawberries. Are they sweet?
ReplyDeleteActually, they tasted kind of plain, but what was good about them is that the little seeds are really crunchy :)
DeleteYes..the deer become a problem when they eat all the low lying plants and shrubs taking habitat from the birds and some people feel ruining the natural way that the forest should be. It's true that their only enemies in some areas are humans or humans in cars..I wish there was some kind of deer birth control...love that you found strawberries, I have some growing in the garden but I don't see any berries yet...Michelle
ReplyDeleteDeer birth control ;) Of course, if we put some out in salt licks or something, there would probably be unintended consequences and all the squirrels would go extinct or something...
DeleteInteresting post. It is so hard to find the right balance, especially since man has changed everything so much and in most places there is limited habitat for all wild animals. Cool that you found strawberries while looking for deer tracks.
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun surprise! Thanks for coming by ;)
DeleteGreat post with great shots. Nature and survival...there is a fine line, sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate it!
DeleteInteresting point. And a great post for Nature Notes.
ReplyDeleteWe have deer in our neighborhood for the first time in the 34 years we have lived here. The deer arrived about two years ago and we have seen them on our security cameras jumping over fences INTO our yard. Now the coyotes have followed the deer. The sad part is there are family pets now being attacked by the coyotes, too.
ReplyDeleteThey jump over my parent's fence too. I did not know about the coyotes though! And you live pretty close to me - uh-oh!
DeleteYep.. The deer were here already, but now there are now predators.
ReplyDeleteLibby this is very interesting -- that article really does make sense. Thanks for pointing it out.... People too often think they can play God and mess with the balance of nature. But I hate to think about'getting rid of Bambi."
ReplyDeleteA natural ecosystem is in such perfect balance that when you mess with one component it seems to affect almost everything. Thanks for reading the article!
DeleteInteresting post. During the hunting season, my neighborhood is crawling with bow hunter after the deer. They really are trying to control the deer population.
ReplyDeleteWow...I hope they don't mistake any people for deer!
DeleteI did not really know about this problem until I read the article.
Unfortunately, we have a few too many deer in our area. One of the big problems is ticks and danger of lyme disease. Smaller issues are just that they eat my flowers! And sometimes my veggies, too (I now grow peas in a cage).
ReplyDeleteI would love it if we could all live harmoniously.
I didn't even think about the ticks and lyme disease...but, I am hearing more and more about that all the time...
DeleteYummy! Wild strawberries, what a treat. It seems you should have got yourself some venison for the first course!!
ReplyDeleteThat's right...I'm going to go live in the hills - live off the land...but, then I won't have internet access. So, that's kind of a deal killer :/
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