My pet deer are among the missing.

[rogerashton]

Well, I mean pest, not pet! They ate my shrubbery down to nubs, knocked over the birdbath and I had to take the bird feeders in at night or they would be down in the morning. The deer made their bed overnight in the shelter of my overgrown Russian olive bushes. But there were three a month ago. Then there were two. As the frigid weather continued through February, there was only one. None for a week now.

They were pests! Why do I feel sad?

[PoliticAverse]

1. Because they're cute pests. n/t

[3catwoman3]

2. Freudian typo...

...perhaps?

Two of my favorite childhood books were Rabbit Hill and The Tough Winter. I have always been happy to wild critters show up in our yard or on our deck.

[NNadir]

3. I remember one of the first mornings that my wife and I moved in to our house...

...and I called her to the window of the kitchen to point out that there were 13 deer in our backyard.

We had just moved from a largely urban area of San Diego and were so happy to be in the New Jersey "country."

"Look how beautiful..." I whispered.

Now of course, when I see deer in my backyard, which happens pretty much three of four times a week, I just mutter to myself, "Giant rats!"

We used to have panthers in New Jersey, up until the early 20th century, when they were driven to extinction locally. I'm all for re-introduction. The chief predator for deer in New Jersey is the automobile.

[progressoid]

4. Did you read about them eating birds?

GliderGuider posted this http://www.democraticunderground.com/112781975

When researchers in North Dakota set up "nest cams" over the nests of song birds, they expected to see a lot of nestlings and eggs get taken by ground squirrels, foxes, and badgers. Squirrels hit thirteen nests, but other meat-eaters made a poor showing. Foxes and weasels only took one nest each. Know what fearsome animal out-did either of those two sleek, resourceful predators?

White-tailed deer.

These supposed herbivores placidly ate living nestlings right out of the nest. And if you're thinking that it must be a mistake, that the deer were chewing their way through some vegetation and happened to get a mouthful of bird, think again. Up in Canada, a group of ornithologists were studying adult birds. In order to examine them closely, the researchers used "mist-nets." These nets, usually draped between trees, are designed to trap birds or bats gently so they could be collected, studied, and released. When a herd of deer came by, they deer walked up to the struggling birds and ate them alive, right out of the nets.

[NV Whino]

5. Not to worry. They are off producing more little dears.

(Spelling intended, unlike most of my autocorrects.)

In a few weeks you will have doubled your pe(s)t herd.