We Tried To Leave Bambi Out of It, But...

By Amanda Dickman in Miscellaneous on May 17, 2007 8:55PM

Besides the random coyote or bunny, we rarely see wildlife roaming free among the streets of Chicago. Nearly everyday we fly (ok, well, mostly crawl) up and down Lake Shore Drive, nary a worry that a deer will make its way across. Honestly, that thought had never crossed our mind until we heard that three deer made a mad dash across Lake Shore Drive Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, two of the three died after being struck by oncoming traffic.

Here's how it went down: the three young bucks (actually, one young buck and two females) were hanging out around Lake Shore Drive between Foster and Bryn Mawr. The male and one female were struck; the female was killed on the spot. The other female fled the scene and the injured buck took off back across the Drive and down Marine. He stopped at the Disney Elementary School (see?! Insert comment related to 1942 animated classic here) where he was cornered and tranquilized by Animal Care inspectors. The little guy died en route to the Animal Care facility (sniff, sniff).

So, what were these guys doing in the midst of all the morning rush hour traffic in the first place? The Animal Care and Control people think they may have been drawn to the lush grass near the lake.

There are currently fifty or so deer in Chicago and with limited habitable space in the city, maybe things like this (although terribly sad) are a necessary evil for population control. Hell, it's either this, or being hunted down like fish in a barrel.

Image via Wikipedia.