While deer and other campus wildlife often may look cute, Department of Public Safety members are encouraging members of the campus community to be cautious around wild animals.
Deer, in particular, have been active and visible on campus. Fall is breeding season for deer. Bucks can be aggressive toward humans if threatened. Their horns and hooves can cause serious injury.
“Males – bucks – can be highly aggressive and unpredictable,” Tim Stoecklein, program director, Emergency Management, said. “There is potential for you to be charged or gored by an aggressive buck.”
Stoecklein recommended giving all deer a wide berth if encountered on campus, advice that he extended to other campus wildlife as well.
In past years, bears have been sighted rummaging through garbage cans near student housing, mountain lions have been spotted on the bluffs north of campus and, depending on the time of year, rattlesnakes can be found on campus walking paths.
“Share the space,” Stoecklein said. “Getting extra close so you can get that great picture might not be good for you or for the animal.”
Awareness of the issue was also raised by recent accounts of the euthanizing of an elk at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee after the animal got too close to people. An Oct 20 video of the elk appearing to play with a photographer became a You Tube sensation.
I agree with your assessment on the danger of deer to humans, but I would point out that deer have antlers, not horns. Horns are never shed and are only found in the cow family. Antlers are shed and are found in the deer family.