With deer on the move looking for love, many are colliding with vehicles in Athens area

A motorist traveling along Georgia Highway 98 in Commerce last Thursday morning struck and killed a deer, just one of numerous such reports filed with law enforcement agencies this fall.

The buck, with trophy-size 10-point antlers, totaled the car, according to Jackson County Sheriff’s Capt. Jim Askey.

“My corporal just showed me a picture of it,” Askey said about the buck — the type hunters like to see in the crosshairs of their rifle scopes with hunting season now in full swing.

While collisions with deer peak during the fall, they seem to be mounting at a high rate this year, according to law enforcement reports.

In a 25-day period in Jackson County during November, the sheriff’s office logged 57 reports of deer collisions. Last month in Madison County, that number hit 58, Madison County Sheriff’s Capt. Jimmy Patton said.

Most collisions don’t result in injuries to drivers, but the damage to vehicles can be heavy, according to the reports.

A typical Jackson County incident report reads: "On 11-07 I responded to Highway 129 at WJ Dills Road in reference to an accident with a deer. The driver advised he was traveling the highway when a deer crossed the roadway striking his vehicle. The Subaru Outback had driver’s side fender damage and frontend damage. The driver advised the vehicle was not drivable. The vehicle had airbag deployment."

“We’ve had four or five (collisions) at one time in one night,” said Askey, who supervises the patrol division. “It seems from the numbers I’m looking at that it’s higher this year than past years, and why, I can’t explain.”

Fall and winter is the rut season, when bucks chase does for breeding, so Askey said that's likely the major factor in the collisions.

Jackson County is also experiencing a large amount of construction, including large warehouses, and deforestation could be a contributing factor, he said.

Oglethorpe County is one of the more rural counties bordering Clarke and Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Tyndell said deer collisions are now an almost daily occurrence all the year in the county, but during the fall it does appear to spike.

“I came within 2 feet of hitting a big buck this morning coming in,” Tyndell said Thursday. “If I had been going one mile faster — I was going about 57 — I wouldn’t have been able to slow down.”

During rut, Tyndell said “the bucks don’t care about anything except finding a doe.”

Figures in Clarke County were not available as deer collisions are not tracked, according to a police department spokesman.

Damage from deer collisions range from small dents to busted radiators and bumpers. The damage often determines whether a person calls for a deputy for an incident report, Patton said.

“Some people decline reports because of the amount of damage or they don’t have liability insurance,” he said.

Other animals also pose a threat on highways, although not nearly the numbers as deer. During the same November time-span in Jackson County, a truck hit a cow on U.S. Highway 441 near Nicholson and a car hit a cow on U.S. 129 near Jefferson. Both vehicles were disabled.

On Highway 82 near Commerce, a woman also reported she hit a bobcat that damaged her bumper.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources offered the following information about deer collisions:

The two main reasons that motorists may see more deer in the fall is because it is the mating season and bucks are searching for mates. The second is the time change, as days become shorter, deer are most active at dawn and dusk, the same time that most commuters are driving.

Tips on deer behavior

Deer are unpredictable: A deer calmly standing on the side of a road may bolt into or across the road when startled by a vehicle.

One deer usually means more: Deer usually travel in groups, so it is likely that others will follow.

Time of day: Deer are most active at dawn and dusk and seen along roads during the early morning and late evening.

Time of year: While deer-vehicle collisions can occur at any time of year, the fall breeding season is a peak time for such accidents. Road shoulders generally provide food plants that attract deer.

Minimize damage: If a collision is unavoidable, drivers are advised to slow down as much as possible and resist the urge to swerve, as this may send drivers off the road or cause a collision with another vehicle.

See Georgia’s deer rut map at http://georgiawildlife.com/rut-map

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Mating season sees increase in deer-vehicle collisions in Athens area