Column: Watch out for deer, other large wildlife

Anyone who lives near wilderness ought to know that wildlife comes with the territory.

Wild critters are no strangers to the front and back yards of Carson City residents. They also know their way around the streetscape pretty well, too.

Because wildlife frequently cross our city streets, they become traffic hazards for the rest of us.

Over the last three weekends, there have been a number of calls to the Carson City Sheriff's Office lately concerning injured deer.

The majority of the incidents involved collisions with automobiles, and most occurred at night.

The last two deer hit were too badly injured to be saved.

A collision Friday night occurred on East William Street at Mills Park as a group of deer attempted to cross the five-lane roadway.

A good-sized Mule deer can cause quite a bit of body damage to a vehicle; enough to make you want to cry when you see the repair bill. A collision with a mustang or feral horse could be fatal for both of you.

Each collision also ties up law enforcement, which responds to assess damage to the animal, people and the vehicle.

Officers taken away from patrol to deal with an injured and dying animal may not be available to respond timely whenever and wherever emergencies occur.

Earlier this month, I wrote about the wild and feral horses of the Virginia Range that frequent Carson City's northeast side.

They come and go as they please. So do the deer.

There isn't anything practical that can be done to prevent them from coming into town.

But there are things each of us can do to discourage wild animals from hanging around and becoming a hazard to everyone else.

Critters come into neighborhoods because there's food, water and plenty of both within the city limits.

Some residents carelessly leave out unsecured garbage, which attracts scavengers like bears or coyotes. Others just can't resist feeding a sappy face with big, round doe eyes.

Therein lies the root of the problem.

People who feed or water wildlife enable food-seeking behavior and risk making the animals more dependent on food handouts instead of nourishment they have to forage for.

That is part of a wild animal's survival instinct. They must scrounge and search for food if they are going to survive.

When we feed them, they begin to expect it and lose interest in finding food on their own. This compromises their instincts and puts them in danger of starving or succumbing to the elements.

The dead deer that have been hit and mortally injured recently are cases in point.

The deer population in Carson City has lived among human residents and their machines for years; long enough to have become desensitized to the dangers posed in an urban environment.

When I drive by deer feeding along busy streets like Roop, Division and Winnie, they do not seem afraid of a passing automobile.

As a matter of fact, they actually appear just curious enough to endanger themselves.

This is not a good thing, because the deer may cross right in front of an automobile, walking casually to the other side of the road, and not sense the danger.

Safety, though, is not the responsibility of deer. It's ours.

Looking beyond the hood of the car further on down the road increases our field of vision and helps us see problems or hazards ahead.

This can be tricky when driving at night, making good peripheral vision even more crucial.

Try to look ahead beyond the limits of your lights, and scan the sides of the road for movement and glowing eyes in the darkness.

Learn to see in the dark if you are going to drive at night.

Don't rely on headlights to see for you. They cannot pick up everything, especially movement beyond them. That's your responsibility.

And that's primarily why drivers collide with two and four-legged pedestrians, mostly at night.

Living with wild animals among us is our reality here in Carson City and surrounding areas.

Be aware, drive with care, and we will all be okay.

The fewer gun shots we hear dispatching an injured deer, the better for everyone.