Deer in the Lake

blitz · 08-24-2010, 03:29 PM

Great picture! Thanks for sharing. We had a similar situation on a busy Saturday afternoon (of all times!) 2 weeks ago between Meredith Neck and Bear Island. We live in the area. Four deer began swimming from Black Cove headed east for Bear; it was a great sight! It appeared they were trying to swim directly across which would allow them the shortest swimming distance. However, boats slowed to watch but never stopped completely as you would for say, ducks crossing a road. They ended up guiding or "herding" them in a southerly direction down the length of the island to a much more populated area with barking dogs etc. It was a very long swim!!! The deer then had to turn and swim even further to avoid the dogs, etc. All the while they're being followed by 3 or 4 boats!!! I was so upset watching this and don't understand it at all. I got so worked up I had everyone around me upset and yelling for the boaters to leave them alone but they didn't get it. Now that I'm on a roll, I've also seen snowmobilers (I love snowmobiling by the way) deliberately separate the straggler deers in the herd crossing the ice from Bear to the Neck and chase them back to the island. Not a thing I could do! So sad and frustrating!! I agree - how 'bout enjoying from a distance?

rick35 · 08-24-2010, 04:17 PM

We were there to watch the deer swim over to Bear on that Saturday afternoon. While some boats were pretty close to the deer the fact that several boats had stopped brought traffic to a stop. Its dangerous to go through that part of the lake on a Saturday afternoon in a boat let alone to be swimming. The outcome could have been far worse for the deer if traffic hadn't stopped.

secondcurve · 08-24-2010, 08:12 PM

Don't worry deer are like rats. There are far too many of these disease carrying varmints in the area. A few less won't hurt anything.

blitz · 08-24-2010, 09:56 PM

You're right Rick35, it was a dangerous swim and maybe could have had a worse outcome. My point was nobody actually stopped. The first few boats that came upon the deer blocked them from making a straight path to Bear. It's a bummer to see people so unaware of their action's effects on nature.

rick35 · 08-24-2010, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blitz

You're right Rick35, it was a dangerous swim and maybe could have had a worse outcome. My point was nobody actually stopped. The first few boats that came upon the deer blocked them from making a straight path to Bear. It's a bummer to see people so unaware of their action's effects on nature.

I was trying to get closer to get a photo of the deer but backed off as soon as I realized that the deer were getting spooked from the on-lookers. So I didn't get the shot I wanted and had to crop in close for a grainey photo.

View image in gallery

rick35 · 08-24-2010, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Don't worry deer are like rats. There are far too many of these disease carrying varmints in the area. A few less won't hurt anything.

I'm sorry but I disagree. Deer are beautiful creatures. I always get a special feeling whenever I see them and frequently go walking on the trails on Bear Island looking for them. If fish and game determines that there are too many for them to remain healthy only then would I support having fewer of them.

secondcurve · 08-25-2010, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rick35

I'm sorry but I disagree. Deer are beautiful creatures. I always get a special feeling whenever I see them and frequently go walking on the trails on Bear Island looking for them. If fish and game determines that there are too many for them to remain healthy only then would I support having fewer of them.

They are beautiful but they carry lots of disease and it is well known that there are too many for the region. Further, be careful of assuming that the government will appropriately manage the problem. Government is highly inefficient and rarely does it get things correct.

hilltopper · 08-25-2010, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secondcurve

They are beautiful but they carry lots of disease and it is well known that there are too many for the region. Further, be careful of assuming that the government will appropriately manage the problem. Government is highly inefficient and rarely does it get things correct.

I'm honestly not sure whether I agree or disagree with your "too many for the region" statement. It's apparent from rule changes (no does with a bow until October) that NH F&G does not agree with your statement.

ishoot308 · 08-25-2010, 08:24 AM

NHF&G does a great job of managing the deer population. Yes at times some islands / smaller sections of land can be over populated with them. This is when F&G will determine if further culling of the herd is required either through special or additional tags, extended area season or in some instances surgical area culling.

As far as deer being disease ridden animals...hardly the case. I have never heard of anyone getting sick eating deer meat or handling deer hides / carcasses. Yes very small numbers of them carry "brain worm" AKA "chronic wasting disease" (similar to mad cow), but this number is extremely low at best and only affects other animals not humans.

Dan

jmen24 · 08-25-2010, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishoot308

NHF&G does a great job of managing the deer population. Yes at times some islands / smaller sections of land can be over populated with them. This is when F&G will determine if further culling of the herd is required either through special or additional tags, extended area season or in some instances surgical area culling.

As far as deer being disease ridden animals...hardly the case. I have never heard of anyone getting sick eating deer meat or handling deer hides / carcasses. Yes very small numbers of them carry "brain worm" AKA "chronic wasting disease" (similar to mad cow), but this number is extremely low at best and only affects other animals not humans.

Dan

Took the words, right out of my mouth. Thank you.

secondcurve · 08-25-2010, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishoot308

NHF&G does a great job of managing the deer population. Yes at times some islands / smaller sections of land can be over populated with them. This is when F&G will determine if further culling of the herd is required either through special or additional tags, extended area season or in some instances surgical area culling.

As far as deer being disease ridden animals...hardly the case. I have never heard of anyone getting sick eating deer meat or handling deer hides / carcasses. Yes very small numbers of them carry "brain worm" AKA "chronic wasting disease" (similar to mad cow), but this number is extremely low at best and only affects other animals not humans.

Dan

Have you ever heard of Lyme disease?

ishoot308 · 08-25-2010, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Have you ever heard of Lyme disease?

Yes I have, but deer are NOT the starting carriers of lyme disease, rodents are, deer are not rodents. Deer supply the tick that transmits the bacterium with a place to mate and provides the blood for the female tick prior to production of eggs. Again, deer are not the primary lyme disease carrier they are the dead end host of the bacterium.

Dan

secondcurve · 08-26-2010, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Yes I have, but deer are NOT the starting carriers of lyme disease, rodents are, deer are not rodents. Deer supply the tick that transmits the bacterium with a place to mate and provides the blood for the female tick prior to production of eggs. Again, deer are not the primary lyme disease carrier they are the dead end host of the bacterium.

Dan

Dan:

It isn't important if deer are the starting carriers of the disease. What is important is that deer are often the carriers that spread the disease to humans.

ishoot308 · 08-26-2010, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Dan:

It isn't important if deer are the starting carriers of the disease. What is important is that deer are often the carriers that spread the disease to humans.

O.K. final comment on this as this is about a beautiful picture someone took not lyme disease... Deer are NOT the carriers of the disease!. It is nearly impossible if not impossible for humans to get lyme disease from deer. An infected tick which got the disease from a RODENT may be piggy backing on a deer for mating / egg laying purpsoes but that's about it.

If you want to think that deer are some terribly diseased ridden animal that should be avoided at all cost, have at it.

Over and out;

Dan

SIKSUKR · 08-26-2010, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Dan:

It isn't important if deer are the starting carriers of the disease. What is important is that deer are often the carriers that spread the disease to humans.

Wow,you are one anti-deer person.Did you get beaten up by a deer when you were young?

secondcurve · 08-26-2010, 05:17 PM

There was a time when Lyme disease was mainly a concern if you were going hiking in the woods or taking a trip to the Cape.

No more. As the Boston Globe reported this week, the tick-borne illness is surging across Massachusetts. Last year, there were more than 4,000 diagnosed cases, compared to 1,200 in 2000.

And the disease appears to be making inroads into the state’s most populated areas, into the suburbs surrounding the Boston area.

So what’s going on?

Experts say a big part of the reason is — sorry, Bambi — deer. They’re the main hosts for the tick that carries the bacteria that causes Lyme disease — and they’re flourishing in the wooded areas that surround Boston’s suburbs.

Coolbreeze · 08-26-2010, 09:15 PM

Secondcurve, although you are correct in being concerned for deer carrying the lyme disease, you also need to be concerned about mice, rats, groundhogs, Foxes, squirrells, red squirrells, dogs, cats, domestic livestock...and any other warm blooded critter that lives or spends time outside.
With that said, preventative measures to not get Lyme are taken by those of us who spend a majority of our lives outside the house. Reading and experience have taught us to be aware of the risks of the environments we are in. Most of us educate ourselves on how to spot and identify a tick on us. We know the high risk areas that they are likely to be and we protect ourselves as much as we can. Moreover, we know how to treat the problem early if we get it. I agree that good herd management practices are a must, but one must be compassionate with the balances of mother nature and understand that simply killing off a carrier of a problem, what ever it may be, will cause potetially greater problems than we were trying to cure. If you still feel that passionate about killing the deer and if you already haven't done it, take a hunters safety course, get a license, buy a gun or bow (practice shooting it, alot) and come and enjoy the great outdoors with the rest of us later this fall.

Lakesrider · 08-28-2010, 05:02 PM

Great pictures of something not seen everyday.
I believe secondcurve is somewhat correct in the concern expressed. Hunters are on the decline in NH. Just go and take the hunters course. There were only 5 last year at the course I took. The instructor told us there used to upwards of 15 to 20 in the course only 5 years ago. Add this to gun and ammo control that will make it too expensive to hunt. There is already a big push to get rid of lead tipped ammo. So this alone will cause ammos cost to go up. It already has actually. The sales of guns is way up...but not for hunting purposes. So the population is bound to spiral upwards until the F&G decide to increase the number of does that can be taken.
I still stop and take pictures of deer when I see them. I guess the nature lover in me just gets going when I see them out in a field or standing by a rock wall.
However, deer control in the near future will be a greater concern as more and more car accidents involving deer will be seen.

webmaster · 08-31-2010, 01:17 PM

Here are some pictures of a moose swimming near FL1 at Weirs Beach from this thread posted last year:

tis · 08-31-2010, 01:44 PM

I haven't read this whole thread so I might have missed it, but does anyone know if it is true that hunting has been banned in NH this year? I heard that. It is supposedly because the deer population is in such tough shape -mostly from the ticks.

ishoot308 · 08-31-2010, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tis

I haven't read this whole thread so I might have missed it, but does anyone know if it is true that hunting has been banned in NH this year? I heard that. It is supposedly because the deer population is in such tough shape -mostly from the ticks.

Completely false!

Dan

Yosemite Sam · 08-31-2010, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tis

I haven't read this whole thread so I might have missed it, but does anyone know if it is true that hunting has been banned in NH this year? I heard that. It is supposedly because the deer population is in such tough shape -mostly from the ticks.

That is sooooooooo funny!

RI Swamp Yankee · 09-03-2010, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secondcurve

They are beautiful but they carry lots of disease and it is well known that there are too many for the region. Further, be careful of assuming that the government will appropriately manage the problem. Government is highly inefficient and rarely does it get things correct.

Were you talking about tourists?

or deer ?

08-24-2010, 03:29 PM	#1
blitz Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 3 Thanks: 21 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Deer in Lake Great picture! Thanks for sharing. We had a similar situation on a busy Saturday afternoon (of all times!) 2 weeks ago between Meredith Neck and Bear Island. We live in the area. Four deer began swimming from Black Cove headed east for Bear; it was a great sight! It appeared they were trying to swim directly across which would allow them the shortest swimming distance. However, boats slowed to watch but never stopped completely as you would for say, ducks crossing a road. They ended up guiding or "herding" them in a southerly direction down the length of the island to a much more populated area with barking dogs etc. It was a very long swim!!! The deer then had to turn and swim even further to avoid the dogs, etc. All the while they're being followed by 3 or 4 boats!!! I was so upset watching this and don't understand it at all. I got so worked up I had everyone around me upset and yelling for the boaters to leave them alone but they didn't get it. Now that I'm on a roll, I've also seen snowmobilers (I love snowmobiling by the way) deliberately separate the straggler deers in the herd crossing the ice from Bear to the Neck and chase them back to the island. Not a thing I could do! So sad and frustrating!! I agree - how 'bout enjoying from a distance?

08-31-2010, 01:17 PM	#19
webmaster Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 2,455 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 459 Thanked 3,830 Times in 840 Posts	Another Good Swimmer Here are some pictures of a moose swimming near FL1 at Weirs Beach from this thread posted last year:

08-24-2010, 04:17 PM	#2
rick35 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bear Island/Merrimack Posts: 807 Thanks: 58 Thanked 203 Times in 130 Posts	We were there to watch the deer swim over to Bear on that Saturday afternoon. While some boats were pretty close to the deer the fact that several boats had stopped brought traffic to a stop. Its dangerous to go through that part of the lake on a Saturday afternoon in a boat let alone to be swimming. The outcome could have been far worse for the deer if traffic hadn't stopped.

08-24-2010, 08:12 PM	#3
secondcurve Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 2,118 Thanks: 1,329 Thanked 559 Times in 288 Posts	Don't worry deer are like rats. There are far too many of these disease carrying varmints in the area. A few less won't hurt anything.

08-24-2010, 09:56 PM	#4
blitz Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 3 Thanks: 21 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	You're right Rick35, it was a dangerous swim and maybe could have had a worse outcome. My point was nobody actually stopped. The first few boats that came upon the deer blocked them from making a straight path to Bear. It's a bummer to see people so unaware of their action's effects on nature.

08-25-2010, 08:24 AM	#9
ishoot308 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Gilford, NH / Welch Island Posts: 6,281 Thanks: 2,402 Thanked 5,291 Times in 2,062 Posts	NHF&G does a great job of managing the deer population. Yes at times some islands / smaller sections of land can be over populated with them. This is when F&G will determine if further culling of the herd is required either through special or additional tags, extended area season or in some instances surgical area culling. As far as deer being disease ridden animals...hardly the case. I have never heard of anyone getting sick eating deer meat or handling deer hides / carcasses. Yes very small numbers of them carry "brain worm" AKA "chronic wasting disease" (similar to mad cow), but this number is extremely low at best and only affects other animals not humans. Dan

The Following User Says Thank You to ishoot308 For This Useful Post:
jmen24 (08-25-2010)

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08-26-2010, 05:17 PM	#16
secondcurve Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 2,118 Thanks: 1,329 Thanked 559 Times in 288 Posts	There was a time when Lyme disease was mainly a concern if you were going hiking in the woods or taking a trip to the Cape. No more. As the Boston Globe reported this week, the tick-borne illness is surging across Massachusetts. Last year, there were more than 4,000 diagnosed cases, compared to 1,200 in 2000. And the disease appears to be making inroads into the state’s most populated areas, into the suburbs surrounding the Boston area. So what’s going on? Experts say a big part of the reason is — sorry, Bambi — deer. They’re the main hosts for the tick that carries the bacteria that causes Lyme disease — and they’re flourishing in the wooded areas that surround Boston’s suburbs.

08-26-2010, 09:15 PM	#17
Coolbreeze Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 332 Thanks: 0 Thanked 51 Times in 26 Posts	Secondcurve, although you are correct in being concerned for deer carrying the lyme disease, you also need to be concerned about mice, rats, groundhogs, Foxes, squirrells, red squirrells, dogs, cats, domestic livestock...and any other warm blooded critter that lives or spends time outside. With that said, preventative measures to not get Lyme are taken by those of us who spend a majority of our lives outside the house. Reading and experience have taught us to be aware of the risks of the environments we are in. Most of us educate ourselves on how to spot and identify a tick on us. We know the high risk areas that they are likely to be and we protect ourselves as much as we can. Moreover, we know how to treat the problem early if we get it. I agree that good herd management practices are a must, but one must be compassionate with the balances of mother nature and understand that simply killing off a carrier of a problem, what ever it may be, will cause potetially greater problems than we were trying to cure. If you still feel that passionate about killing the deer and if you already haven't done it, take a hunters safety course, get a license, buy a gun or bow (practice shooting it, alot) and come and enjoy the great outdoors with the rest of us later this fall.

08-28-2010, 05:02 PM	#18
Lakesrider Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 2,129 Thanks: 380 Thanked 1,016 Times in 345 Posts	Great pictures of something not seen everyday. I believe secondcurve is somewhat correct in the concern expressed. Hunters are on the decline in NH. Just go and take the hunters course. There were only 5 last year at the course I took. The instructor told us there used to upwards of 15 to 20 in the course only 5 years ago. Add this to gun and ammo control that will make it too expensive to hunt. There is already a big push to get rid of lead tipped ammo. So this alone will cause ammos cost to go up. It already has actually. The sales of guns is way up...but not for hunting purposes. So the population is bound to spiral upwards until the F&G decide to increase the number of does that can be taken. I still stop and take pictures of deer when I see them. I guess the nature lover in me just gets going when I see them out in a field or standing by a rock wall. However, deer control in the near future will be a greater concern as more and more car accidents involving deer will be seen.

The Following User Says Thank You to Lakesrider For This Useful Post:
secondcurve (08-31-2010)

08-31-2010, 01:44 PM	#20
tis Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,749 Thanks: 752 Thanked 1,459 Times in 1,016 Posts	I haven't read this whole thread so I might have missed it, but does anyone know if it is true that hunting has been banned in NH this year? I heard that. It is supposedly because the deer population is in such tough shape -mostly from the ticks.