OAKLAND CO., Mich. (WXYZ) — There are over 50,000 vehicle accidents involving deer every year in Michigan according to the Department of Natural Resources, and residents in Oakland County say they are no stranger to the dangers these creatures pose.
"Used to be that you went hunting up north and you'd see deer," one Metro Detroit man told us. "Now you just have to go in your front yard and you see deer. You go in your backyard and you see deer. Deer are everywhere."
Some Detroiters aren't too thrilled about the growing deer populations in their neighborhoods.
"They're a little too comfortable," said Kelly Sanders. "They think they can just hangout wherever they want to and normally that's fine until they start to get aggressive and and then our kids can't get into our driveway and that becomes a problem."
"She warned me and was like 'this deer ran after me and my dog, I had to run', so just be careful with the kids," recounted Kimberly Schreiber.
Other residents say they aren't too bothered by them, even coming up with unique forms of repellant to keep the creatures off their property.
"if you go to get your haircut, when they sweep it up, I give a bag to my clients and they can sprinkle it through your flowers and plants and they don't touch them because they don't like the smell of humans," said Gina Willson.
Acting deer management specialist with the DNR, Chad Fedewa, says it's no secret these creatures have adapted well to living in urban and suburban neighborhoods.
"They have everything they need in those spaces," Chad said. "They have food, they have good coverage availablity, especially in communities with a lot of green space."
And because there aren't many natural predators in these more populated communities like Oakland County.. he says not much can be done to manage the deer population there.
"Regulated hunting is the main management tool to maintain deer populations," Chad said.
But hunting can present as quite a challenge, due to the proximity of the homes.
"Hunting in urban settings does present some challenges it’s not impossible but that is sort of the main management tool," Chad said.
So, local jurisdiction have had to get a little creative.
"Archery hunting has been a tool some communities are exploring and have been using, and doing some permitting sharpshooting in other areas have been an option as well," Chad said.
But at the end of the day, Chad says some communities might just have to learn to share their space with these majestic looking creatures.
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