A pair of fawns are seen grazing in a yard along Hillside Drive in Bloomington in this photo from last summer. Car accidents, ruined gardens and concern for the health of the deer themselves have prompted the city to look at ways to reduce the urban deer population. David Snodgress | Herald-Times
DNR: Number of deer-vehicle collisions in Monroe County
2004: 65
2005: 79 2006: 72
2007: 91
2008: 101
2009: 120
2010: 108
2011: 111
A mother gives birth in a front yard near the corner of Hillside and South Longwood drives, a single tree offering cover. Cars pass by, and she stares blankly with her big, brown eyes.
Her offspring will be just as comfortable with city life. They will join with family, jaywalking across roadways, venturing to backyards for a snack of potted plants.
Man has claimed Bloomington as home, but an expanding deer population has had no trouble carving out a niche in the same ecosystem. The deer are undemanding citizens of nature. Woods become neighborhoods, but residential gardens remain fit for grazing.
“This is really deer paradise,” Indiana University biologist Angie Shelton said of Bloomington, weighing its abundant feeding grounds against a lack of natural predators and regulations on hunting.
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