A live Key Deer standing there, pondering it's next move.
Key Deer Boulevard on Big Pine Key. Five arrow-straight miles (8kms) that cut through the Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge on the north side of the island.
This is the Key Deer's main habitat in the islands, which between them constitute it's entire range, and it has to share them with humans, many of whom, though late arrivals themselves. tend to resent the presence of the deer.
Sharing the road is part of the issue, the other part is learning to share one's garden with these creatures on Big Pine Key.
I thought Cheyenne might enjoy some time in the woods. She has met Key Deer in the past month and they freak her out. She stops, looks at them warily and comes running to hide behind my legs until the danger is past. She is no threat to wildlife.
There was a threat of snow flurries (not really, but it felt cold enough): blue skies and bright sunshine broke out instead:
The black dots on the branches in the picture above are turkey vultures, like these in the picture below:
This is their time of year in the Keys, and who can blame them, this is a great time normally to be down here. These two below looked like cartoon characters to me:
It took a detective like me but a couple of minutes to figure out their interest in this woody spot:
It seems at least one and maybe more Key deer had died here.
The bleached white bones lay about in a confusion of profusion, starkly back lit by the brown pine needles carpeting the limestone:
I trod on this next one and it rose up like a skeletal hand from the grave and tapped me in the back of the calf. I leaped like a startled hare (an arresting image, I know), and when I got home I gave that portion of my anatomy extra attention in the shower. I felt unclean, despite myself.
There were bones scattered all around the clearing and i wondered if some enterprising, hungry resident of Big Pine might not have taken the law into his own hands out in this lonely spot?
As I pondered the charnel house around my feet the local undertakers stretched impatiently waiting for the intruders to move on and let them get back to work:
Bizarrely enough I found a container lying in the mess as though the butcher had forgotten it and left it behind.
On mature reflection I doubt it was a human hand that did this directly. A hunter wouldn't pick the bones clean and leave them lying around. I rather suspect traffic on nearby Key Deer Boulevard was responsible for severe injuries followed by a solitary death in the nearby bushes.
Cheyenne to my surprise showed no interest in the deer remains and contented herself with finding a puddle of tannic water to drink:
It's not too terribly legal to eat them either, unless you happen to be a turkey vulture in which case you probably can't read the sign.
A live Key Deer standing there, pondering it's next move.
This is the Key Deer's main habitat in the islands, which between them constitute it's entire range, and it has to share them with humans, many of whom, though late arrivals themselves. tend to resent the presence of the deer.
Sharing the road is part of the issue, the other part is learning to share one's garden with these creatures on Big Pine Key.
There was a threat of snow flurries (not really, but it felt cold enough): blue skies and bright sunshine broke out instead:
This is their time of year in the Keys, and who can blame them, this is a great time normally to be down here. These two below looked like cartoon characters to me: 
I trod on this next one and it rose up like a skeletal hand from the grave and tapped me in the back of the calf. I leaped like a startled hare (an arresting image, I know), and when I got home I gave that portion of my anatomy extra attention in the shower. I felt unclean, despite myself. 
There were bones scattered all around the clearing and i wondered if some enterprising, hungry resident of Big Pine might not have taken the law into his own hands out in this lonely spot?
Bizarrely enough I found a container lying in the mess as though the butcher had forgotten it and left it behind.
Cheyenne to my surprise showed no interest in the deer remains and contented herself with finding a puddle of tannic water to drink:
It's not too terribly legal to eat them either, unless you happen to be a turkey vulture in which case you probably can't read the sign.
11 comments:
That is quite an array of bones. Your guess is very likely right about the injury and solitary death, I'd hope. I'm surprised at the lack of interest from the canine nose ... I personally know her cousin would have been exercising his jaws overtime given this opportunity.
Dear Conch:
In the sovereign State of New York, you are allowed to keep the deer if there is damage to your car, or evidence like hair in the grill-work. Venison is delicious, if properly prepared in the field and in the kitchen.
I find it interesting, but not inappropriate, that you are shadowed by vultures.
Here is Chester County, Pa, the deer are regarded as hooved rats. I took a recon ride in the truck yesterday, and counted 11 of the, out in broad daylight, standing on various lawns and horse pastures. Two ran out in front of the truck on "Eden" Lane.
The East Goshen deer census has put the number of deer most easily sustained by the terrain here at 150. The number of deer counted in the township was between 300 and 400. There are six other communities just like this one bordering this one. Thats about 2400 deer in 6 square miles. The number might be much higher as cornfields abound in the other comunities, as do golf courses and municipal parks.
The Key Deer are different, as they exist no place else. A federation should be formed to purchase the entire Key, to throw all of the people off the island, to turn it over entirely to deer, and to have a lottery each year for permits to cull the herd. The cost of a ticket should be $500, 10,000 could be printed, and 300 picked each year. The reserve would pay for itself in 20 years.
The National Park Service does something similar with the buffalo.
You should have purchased another pair of pink crocs, and buried them in the ground with leg bones sticking out of them.
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep • Toad
While Jack has a good idea, about purchasing the whole Key to turn it into a preserve, culling the herd is not practical. If I'm not mistaken, the whole "herd" is around 300 or less (maybe half?, Sorry I'm out of the loop on the latest numbers) and culling is not going to be a problem. Due to the lack of fresh water and available natural food source, the herd struggles to survive, even with the human element excluded. I would be much more in favor of tolls being placed on visitors entering and leaving Big Pine Key. Residents of the Keys could be excluded or given a huge discount via a pass card, but anyone else travling over Big Pine by vehicle, for business or recreation would have to pay a toll to travel the road. The toll money could be used to build and maintain the preserve, and to buy out the landowners over time. How about even a National Park? Lands incorporated for a National Park, give homeowners the right to their lands for a number of years, but eventually after the lifetime of the owner the lands revert to the Government, with only a small fee if any going to the surviving family. Combination of the two? It would work to preserve the herd and the habitat on such a fragile little island, but will the powers that be make sucha bold move? We will lose the beauty and fragility of the Keys if bold moves aren't made. Am I a tree hugger? No, not really, but I do see the point in preserving certain areas of our ecosystem. Just my opinion. Sorry Conchscooter, if I took up to much of you blog with my pet peeves. Thanks for the lovely pictures of the live deer and for showing us the problems that still exists there.
I've often wondered why some of the deer couldn't be exported to Cayo Costa. Most of the island is a park already, and there are no roads to it.
I'm not aware of any native deer there currently. I am told there are wild pigs on the island (not native), and it would seem they could use a little competition for resources.
I'm not suggesting this needs to be done so that the keys can be rid of the deer, but just to establish a population that isn't threatened by cars. Essentially, these are small, island dwelling deer. A permanent refuge would seem to be as easy as putting some on an island without roads and hunters, no?
We are really far behind. When did you get Cheyenne. Tell me which post and I will read about it. How about this cold weather?
The picture of the vultures reminds me of the old poster:
One vulture says to the other, "Scavenger, HELL. I'm ready to KILL something!"
__Orin
Scootin' Old Skool
Conchscooter,
You will be delighted, I am sure, to know that I used this post to help plan a science lesson for my class. I practiced on my kids and they were enthralled. Your blog shall live in infamy!
Diana
Or, the vulture could have said,
"Thank God for ketchup!"
Around here the deer don't ponder their next moves. They just bolt willy nilly.
Interesting photos of the skeletal sections. I dont believe I have ever been whacked by a deer bone. You have one up on me there.
Dear riepe: someone took your comment seriously. I hope your heart is up to the shock.
dear shonassie; I can only faintly begin to imagine what the reaction would be to imposing a key deer toll, and then announcing that it's purpose would be to buy people out of their homes on big pine. There has been a proposal for a highway one toll to pay for the sewers we so desperately need. That one has yet to face its inevitable hail of withering pubic criticsm. Anyone who mistakes the Florida Keys for the tree huggers of the pacific northwest (pefley included)is in for a surprise. no one recycles down here never mind moving out to accomodate wildlife.
as for cayo costa the general inclination among park service personnel both state and federal is to keep native species where they are supposed to be. sticking key deer on a previously deer free island would up messing with the ecology, one presumes.
as for ketchup- everything goes better with that though I am no fan of gamey meat including venison.
I cannot begin to imagine what young dears would learn from looking at bones from young deer but who am I to ask the question?
Aww I didn't take him totally seriously, just hit my soft spot when it came to the plight of the deer. I know to some extent how things go and are going down there, just don't agree on all counts. Wish there was a way for the human race and all of our animal charges to live together w/o threatening the other, but in the human family, races/religions/cultures cannot live in harmony, how could we have time or energy for the rest of the planet? I hate to live in that negative thought, but life isn't always pretty.
Meet Cheyenne was posted 8th December.
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