By Jeremy Varner
Increasing human population is reducing the pockets of woods and greenspace available for non-human neighbors in Atlanta. I think that statement is plainly obvious, but if you disagree, think about all the former greenspace and empty lots that are now developed. Folks gotta live somewhere, and more and more they want to live in Atlanta. Unfortunately, this means we lose space for furry and feathered friends. For now, at least, there are still spaces to see wild animals without going to the country. Squirrels and chipmunks are ubiquitous, most people have likely seen possums or racoons in their backyards, and even coyotes and deer still have space ITP.
Spending a moderate amount of time in southeast Atlanta greenspaces, I’ve seen a fair share of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). I’ve seen several bucks and does at Lake Charlotte Nature Preserve and while walking along Doll’s Head Trail at Constitution Lake. As two large and wild-ish greenspaces in the area they are obvious deer habitat, but I’ve seen deer in less woodsy places as well.
A couple of years ago, I saw a six-point buck in the field that is now the Zephyr townhome development on Englewood Avenue. There used to be ample deer-hoof prints on the Chosewood Park baseball field, but it seems that the Zephyr development and the Atlanta Housing Authority development next door have driven them away.
Last year, during a birding trip to South Bend Park, I spooked a deer in the brush along the creek behind the pool. I heard it leaping out of bed and running away before I saw it, but I did get a glimpse of its back and raised tail before it bounded away.
This past February, while coaching a middle school baseball game at Therrell High School in southerst Atlanta, I spotted a doe on the hillside behind the field. She was within thrown-ball distance of the action but was completely unbothered by the commotion.
Sometimes you just see evidence of deer being in the area. Bucks shed their antlers every year in late winter/early spring. I found a very nice five-point shed antler at Brown’s Mill Golf Course. Adding the matching antler would have made an impressive ten-point rack that even a seasoned hunter would appreciate. At the aforementioned baseball game, a player’s younger brother found a four-point shed antler in the woods near the ball field. He was wandering with the freedom only baseball players’ siblings know. The antler’s pedicle, which is the base where it connects to the skull, was so white that the deer had likely shed it just a few days before.
Wild animals are cool, and they need wild spaces to live. Let’s value the wild spaces we still have and enjoy them respectfully. If you get out there, don’t make too much racket, and keep your eyes and ears open. You too have a chance to see a deer or something else wonderful.
