OH DEAR, OH DEER!

The last two days in Donegal have been fabulous ~ blue skies and sunshine so obviously I just had to get out and about with my camera. 

However, driving between Glenties and Doochary yesterday, I came across a very sad sight.  A magnificent deer lying dead at the side of the road.  Pulling over to take photographs might seem an odd thing to do but it is what I did. 

Dead Deer Donegal

It is only the second dead deer I have seen on my travels around the county which is pretty surprising as there are so many deer in certain parts of the county and although some areas are fenced, many more are not.  Even those areas that are fenced still can't contain agile deer totally and so accidents do happen when they wander onto our roads.

They are a massive danger to people using the road as impact with one could cause very serious personal damage not to mention a lot of damage to a vehicle.  Yes, there are signs warning drivers of the danger of deer running onto the road, but I travel around a lot and have only seen a handful of deer wandering around and so maybe we become complacent to the danger both to the deer and to ourselves as the driver of vehicles.

The dead deer yesterday however brought it all home just how dangerous it can be.  This deer was a pretty large animal and I can't imagine the damage the vehicle that hit him suffered not to mention the pain the poor animal must have felt.  I just hope he died quickly and at least someone moved him off the road where he could have cause further damage.

So sad ...

So remember, when driving around areas of Donegal where there are deer, take extra care ~ for your own sake and for the sake of these magnificent creatures.