The Shocking Reason Why Michigan Residents Are Seeing More Deer

We have all been driving down the road, especially at night, and have had to slam on our brakes or swear to avoid smacking into an animal. It's the worst when you're on the highway and all of a sudden there's 4 deer running across the road and you're doing your best to avoid hitting them. This is a common occurrence in Michigan as their thousands of deer roaming the state and they are attracted to open areas.

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Often times we don't see deer roaming through residential neighborhoods or throughout the daylight often as they are trying to keep themselves hidden from prey and other dangers that pose a threat. There are sometimes during the year that we will see deer roaming throughout city limits as they are pushed out of their natural habitats as they fear for their lives.

Now, take a second and think about the last couple of years, does it seem like you have seen more deer on the roads and in the neighborhoods than years prior? This isn't a coincidence and you're not going crazy; you are 1000% seeing more deer in these places than before and you won't believe the reason why.

Michigan Deer Population Rising For This Unbelievable Reason

The Michigan DNR says the deer population has been growing in southern Michigan due to a decline in a popular hobby. The Michigan DNR says that the state has seen a steady decline in deer hunters since the 1990s and that's why the deer population is growing. The state once had 800,000 deer hunters, that number is now closer to 600,000 and looks to continue to trend downward.

The Michigan DNR also mentioned Michigan has a great habitat for deer to reproduce and raise their young which has also contributed to the deer population increase in Michigan. With more deer roaming the state there has been an increase in deer involved car crashes especially in west Michigan.

The DNR says that Tuesdays are the days where you are most likely to get in an accident with a deer but more importantly, the entire month of November as firearm deer season opens for the year. So, because there are less deer hunters, there are more deer, as shocking as it is, it makes total sense.