A buck crosses Fisher Ferry Road.
Eli Baylis - The Vicksburg Post
In December, the heart of "gun season" in the state's four-month deer hunting season, fewer people called Vicksburg Warren 911 to report what dispatchers call "vehicle vs. deer" accidents compared to the same time a year ago. Dispatchers' records show they took 24 calls during December, just more than half during the month a year earlier.
Does likely moved over wider areas of Warren County last spring and summer as they searched to find water during an extra-dry and early fawning season, state deer biologist said last summer.
More deer meant more have been seen dashing across roads and, in a few cases, crashing through plate glass windows in broad daylight.
The last two fatal wrecks in Warren County in 2012, one November 30 another December 13, took place on Duncan Road and U.S. 80, areas known for heavy deer populations. Another wreck reported December 31 tied up traffic on westbound I-20 when a vehicle struck a deer, though no major injuries were reported.
A good mast crop, or the fruit eaten by deer from forest trees, has Mississippi's deer population, estimated to be 1.75 million, in good health, said William McKinley, a deer program biologist for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.
In 2009-10, the most recent deer program report available, 2,763 bucks were harvested by 91 participants in Warren County in the agency's Deer Management Assistance Program both figures were tops among the state's 82 counties in the program.
When a deer crosses a road, it's about more than getting to the other side. When chasing a doe during breeding season, which last through January in West-Central Mississippi and peak in Vicksburg just before Christmas, a buck is not likely to see a truck or car whether it's in front of the headlights or not.
"They may not even see oncoming traffic, and there's a certain pecking order when they do that, so it's a critical time to be on the lookout," McKinley said. "If you see one, slow down because there's likely to be more."
From October through January MDWFP agents observe and note the number of deer carcasses seen per 10,000 miles driven in their vehicles. Last winter, the total was 13.9, a slight dip after four years of increases. McKinley said the count is the agency's primary way of tracking motor vehicle accidents involving deer.
"The increases are probably associated with more deer overall," McKinley said, adding certain types of grasses near a road attract deer. "There's no effort made to determine the number of vehicles on the road, but it's used as index for the deer population."
Emergency officials and the insurance industry stress it's best to report a deer strike just as any other wreck.
Mississippi is rated the 17th-most likely state to have a deer collision, according to a study by State Farm, the nation's largest insurance provider. West Virginia, which has 1.2 million with Mississippi's 1.9 million, rated first.
Average property costs of deer-vehicle incidents nationwide was $3,305 during mid-2011 to mid-2012, up 4.4 percent from the previous year, according to the study.
Deductible amounts vary from one drive to the next, said Nancy Stuart, lead agent at Alfa Insurance on Pemberton Square Boulevard.
"Most of our accidents are minor, usually on a dark, lonely road," Stuart said. "But, the deer are everywhere around here."
In 2012 I myself have had 2 experiences where I had to break for deer. Both instances involved more than one deer and both instances had at least one deer that actually had to jump over the hood of my car. Only one instance where one deer did not make it across and neither did my car.
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