October is the prime breeding month for Lake County”s deer herd and that means the bucks will be on the prowl looking for does. It also means that bucks in rut can be dangerous critters, especially when hanging around backyards and urban areas.
A resident of Buckingham called last week and said that there was an aggressive adult buck in his backyard and he wanted to know if the deer could be dangerous. He said when he approached the deer the buck lowered his head and glared at him. It showed no fear of humans. He finally threw a rock at the buck and it ran out of his yard.
While it”s rare for any wild animal to attack a human, it does happen. A few years back a mature buck deer killed a resident near Rancho Sante Fe in Southern California. The individual was picking tomatoes in his backyard when a large buck attacked him. The buck speared the victim in the head and face with his antlers. The man died from the massive wounds three weeks later.
The same year another aggressive buck pinned a man to the side of his house near Covelo. The man”s wife drove off the deer with a piece of firewood. In addition a deer attacked and killed a dog in a backyard in Orinda.
Are the deer becoming the hunters and we the hunted? Not likely. What is happening is that humans are building houses and moving into deer habitat. Take a drive around Lake County and you will see dozens of new homes being built in what was once uninhabited woodlands and brushy back country. The wild animals that once lived there have nowhere else to go.
The other major factor is that new homeowners normally install water sprinklers and plant grass, flowers and other green plants. Since the hills and back country in the county are normally bone dry during the early fall months and offer very little feed for the deer, the animals just move into the residential areas where there is an abundance of food and water. One example are the golf courses in the county, which have long been an attraction for deer.
Deer tend to be shy (just ask any hunter), but once they get used to hanging out in backyards and feeding on flowers, they soon become semi-domesticated. Many people also feed the deer (which is against the law). These semi-tame deer can become aggressive if not fed. The bucks also get aggressive during the breeding season, which is now under way.
A mature buck in Lake County will weigh about 160 pounds and is incredibly strong. Add a sharp set of 20-inch antlers and a short temper, and the animal can be extremely dangerous.
Even does can be dangerous. A few years ago a doe came into the backyard of a Southern California resident and stomped a 3-year-old boy to death with its hooves.
According to Department of Fish and Game (DFG) biologists, bucks in rut often display aggressive behavior such as a lowering of the head, walking stiff-legged and slobbering.
This is also the time of the year when motorists should use caution. Bucks searching for does often walk down the middle of the road, especially at night. A buck jumped out in front of my vehicle just last week and I barely missed him. Hitting a deer can cause major damage to a car and even serious injuries to the motorist.
Deer in backyards can also attract mountain lions, and Lake County has an abundance of the big cats. The local game wardens receive several calls a week of mountain lion sightings around the county. In fact, lions have been spotted within the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake.
The reason lions hang around the residential areas is because they prey on the deer as well as dogs and cats. In fact, house cats are one of the primary food sources for the local mountain lions.
There hasn”t yet been a case of a mountain lion threatening a human in the county. However, there have been some close calls. A few years ago a resident of the Buckingham area shot and killed a lion that was in his backyard. A lion once entered a home through an open patio door near Kono Tayee.
DFG wildlife biologists say that if any wild animal shows no fear of humans or is aggressive, the advice is to leave it alone. They also say to never feed wildlife because they will become domesticated and could be potentially dangerous. In the end the animal will probably have to be destroyed.
