KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Last weekend brought over ten inches of snow and that means local deer will be relocating from the hillsides into town. Alaska Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Biologist Larry Van Daele says that the deer usually aren’t spotted around town until December, but with the unusually heavy snowfall he’s expecting them sooner.
— (Deer 1 :06 "There just so darn short that they can’t handle real deep snow falls so they tend to come to the lower elevations where it’s not so snowy.")
Van Daele says that as the deer start showing up around town, people need to take a few precautions. Most importantly, Van Daele urges residents to NOT feed the deer. It could kill them.
— (Deer 2 :36 "We’ve had some situations … well intentions they actually kill the deer.")
When driving, Van Daele says that Dead Man’s curve and the curve out toward Ft. Abercrombie are the most common places where car accidents with deer happen.
He also cautions people to control their dogs. The deer have so little energy in the winter that being chased or harassed by a dog could exhaust them to death.
