Deer Endangered and Threats
Due to the many different types of deer out there and the locations where they are found, most people don’t even consider them to be among the Endangered Species. However, there are a few of them that are in that type of predicament. In fact, there are several species of deer that are completely extinct already. Hopefully efforts to protect those in danger now will be successful so that they aren’t added to that other list.
The Red deer found in Scotland is one that is in very serious trouble. For decades the habitat area for them has continued to be depleted by very large portions. They have been able to survive in areas that other deer weren’t able to but that doesn’t mean it is very easy for them to do so. It also doesn’t mean the environment is one that they can continue in if they are going to get their numbers to increase.
The fact that these Red Deer are also hunted for the red velvet that is produced on their antlers is another problem. In the culture around Scotland it is believed that this velvet has healing powers. They use it in traditional medicines. However, they feel the benefits from grinding down the antlers into a powder so they don’t wait for the velvet to fall off on its own. Instead, these deer are killed so that they can benefit from it.
The Key Deer are found in the area of the Florida Keys. They too are on the Endangered Species list. This is mainly due to the overdevelopment of the areas where they used to live. Homes to these animals are being plowed down to build homes and businesses in their place. The Florida Wildlife Federation has opened up a heated court process involving this.
They want efforts to be put into place to successfully preserved the remaining habitat for the Key Deer in the hopes that they will be successful enough to repopulate to high enough numbers. Yet those that are involved with various stages of development feel that they are losing a great deal of money. They also want to point out that in Florida there are limited areas to continue building if we are going to protect all of the wildlife areas.
Even though many species of deer do have a good population right now, it is important to remember that there is a very delicate balance with nature. Humans continue to move into territory that deer once had to themselves. As a result it is becoming harder and harder for them to survive. The fact that their habitat and food supplies can be limited can result in drastically low numbers in certain areas. The issue can be held up in court for a very long time before a decision is finalized.
It can also reduce the overall quality of the gene pool for any given deer species. Many active groups out there are fighting to save the land for the different deer populations. They definitely don’t want to wait until they get into an Endangered Species status before they take action. It is time consuming to get a successful plan of action in place and to see the benefits of it.
In some areas there are problems for deer with issue such a disease and illness that spread very rapidly. These problems can definitely end up harming the overall population of deer that remain in any given area. Problems such as forest fires and pollution can also be contributing factors. Therefore we all need to make a conscious effort to protect the deer out there as well as other animals in the wild.
