Community Corner

Deer Sighted in North Buckhead

Photos show animal on Sheldon Drive

A deer has been seen several times recently in North Buckhead.

North Buckhead resident George Hodges sent these photos to North Buckhead Civic Association President Gordon Certain, who cropped them for use on his association email. The photos were taken on Sheldon Drive Monday afternoon by Hodges' wife, Lisa.

The deer has also been seen on Ivy Road and Longleaf Drive, according to e-mails sent to the North Buckhead Civic Association. 

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Nancy Jones, executive director of Buckhead's said in an e-mail, "These days deer live everywhere; they really don't have any predators here in town other than our automobiles. We have deer at Blue Heron, and I believe they travel by the creek. It would be easy for them to follow Nancy Creek under Roswell Road and come into North Buckhead.

"Often there are so many deer in an area, food sources become competitive, and so they travel for food and space. We have so much wildlife in NorthBuckhead with our woods and big yards, which really used to be the animals' homes.

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"Now, we live where they used to live, and in order to survive they are living with us. So, North Buckhead yards have just become wildlife habitat!"

Linda Potter, interim director of  Lithonia-based AWARE (Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort) said the appearance of the deer could be related to the spring birth season of fawns, when the mother deer has to forage for food for its offspring.

Another factor might be the trapping of the deer's natural predator, the coyote, in Buckhead areas where the deer was seen, Potter said. 

"The more we remove the natureal predator, the coyote, the more deer there are," she said. "With the overpopulation,  they're going to come out of woods to find food." She said another factor is development that takes away the deer's natural habitat.

The deer are shy creatures and not usually harmful, but may eat vegetables from gardens, she said.

AWARE is an animal rescue group that takes care of injured animals and returns them to their natural habitat, Potter said.

 



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