DEER SEARCH FOR WINTER FOOD IN RESIDENTIAL AREA

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 25, 15 August 1949, Page 4

DEER SEARCH FOR WINTER FOOD IN RESIDENTIAL AREA

Driven by the winter food shortage in the hills, wild deer have been marauding gardens at Mahina Bay, near Eastbourne, Wellington. The milkman on his early morning round frequently encounters them in gardens and shrubberies, where they have done much damage. Most residents near the bushcovered slopes have given up hopes of raising a garden. “The deer eat everything,” one resident said. “They love vegetables and small ornamental shrubs. We lost a whole bed of prize asters last week.

“The damage they can do in one night is incredible. In a few hours they will lay waste a garden that has taken months to build. They will root down for carrots or tubers; they stop at nothing.” Several of the scrawny and un-der-nourished deer have been shot recently, but others return night after night and several have been seen even in the daytime approaching closely to houses. Oraginsed hunts had been held, but with small success, said a resident. Bold at night, most of the animals retreated to the bush in the daytime. August was ebb month of the year for wild creatures, said the director of the Dominion Museum, Mr R. A. Falla. Lack of succulent growth in the forests drove the animals down to man-made gardens. During the winter, animals lacked succulent seedlings, and young growth. The juicy roots of certain undergrowth made up for other fo'od, but these were scarce.