Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for June 7, 2006 JANE DOE

Doe...a deer...a female deer...DEAD.

Is it safe to go back into the...woods? Only time will tell!

From the Southern Illinoisan...

Deer shot following close call

BY CALEB HALE, THE SOUTHERN

CARBONDALE - Southern Illinois University Carbondale police and wildlife officials destroyed a deer Tuesday morning, after a campus police officer shot it Monday night trying to protect a pedestrian from attack.

Police report around 7 p.m. Monday an officer on patrol near the campus lake on Douglas Drive shot a female deer with his handgun, as the animal charged him, injuring his forearm. The officer came between a jogger and the deer, which officials reported was crossing the street and going after the jogger. As the officer told the pedestrian to back away, the deer attacked him, leading him to fire his weapon. The deer was wounded and ran back into the woods.

After consulting with university and state wildlife officials, police found the animal early Tuesday morning and destroyed it.

SIUC spokeswoman Sue Davis said police have been making extra rounds near the campus lake since three individuals were attacked by a doe two weeks ago. The attack was similar to a string of deer confrontations the university saw in 2005, one of which has resulted in a lawsuit from one of the victims.

Campus officials this year have actively warned people to stay away from female deer who may be overly protective of their young in the fawning season, which runs through the end of this month. The latest attacks, however, have come with no evidence that fawns were present.

Davis said no fawns were observed in Monday's incident either.

The campus lake path is popular with joggers but a portion of the path has been taped off in recent weeks in an attempt to avoid deer-human encounters.

"Quite honestly, despite being warned ... many people have ignored it and put themselves in harm's way," Davis said.

She added the jogger Monday was not in a taped off area when the deer charged.

The unusual attacks have led university wildlife experts to speculate the campus could be dealing with one or two rogue deer, exhibiting particularly aggressive behavior toward humans.

If that is the case, SIUC Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory Director Eric Hellgren said killing the deer may solve the problem.

"If it is one deer that has been doing all this, that would mean the problem is gone," he said. "If it's multiple deer, we might continue to see these kinds of incidents."

Safety officials on campus still recommend people stay away from areas that have been prone to deer attacks through the end of the month. Police have put up signs and tape in areas humans are most likely to encounter deer.