Few states have such good computerized records. North Carolina s deer population now stands at between 950,000 and 1 million animals, said Scott Osborne, big game program coordinator at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. In 1910, only 10,000 deer roamed the state, and in 1980, there were about 350,000. Besides the 202,000 deer taken by hunters in 1999, unknown thousands of others died after being hit by cars and trucks, Osborne said. In a lot of accidents, deer are not killed and often not even injured.
Bucks become aggressive and territorial during the fall rut, driving away younger male competitors.
The increasing number of accidents involving deer likely is due to a combination of factors, the most important of which is a steady increase in the number of vehicle miles driven on North Carolina highways each year. Other factors affecting deer and traffic accidents are more roads and gunfire during the hunting season that keeps the animals moving, he said. Between summer and fall, the deer diet changes as well, Osborne said. They go from eating chiefly grass and leaves to acorns, corn and other crops. That carbohydrate diet gives them more energy and makes them more active.