Are you seeing dead deer along the highways? Me too! I personally have seen at least 10 deer including bucks along the major roadways.
The reason for this: the whitetail breeding season known as “the rut”. Yes, the bucks are chasing the females (does) that are “in heat”. The chase phase of the season runs from approximately the end of October until the beginning of Januray. Yes, you read that correctly.
This is the time of year when the does continually come into heat until they are bred which is the reason why the “rut” can and does last until January.
If you see a deer crossing sign, heed the warning. This is an area that sees a high volume of deer and is warning the drivers of them. But, these aren’t the only places where you will find deer. Some have been known to find themselves in supermarkets, homes and schools. They have appeared in places where they don’t normally belong anymore. I feel, in part, the building up of the suburbs and taking away the deer’s natural habitat may play a role.
Deer (bucks) seem to lose all common sense and fear during the rut because of the raging testosterone levels in the buck. They are sleep-deprived and they lose 25%-35% of their weight during this season and lose their fear of humans since their focus is soley on the female deer.
Be careful on the roads. Deer can do serious and costly damage to your car. I should know. It has happened to me twice. My nephew just hit a deer in western PA two weeks ago. His car still hasn’t been fixed because of the high influx of cars that have been towed to this particular garage because of others facing the same fate.