Blame It On Bigfoot

[Incorrigible1]

Plused for the Guthrie reference. Saw him live for the 50th anniversary Alice's Restaurant tour.

[JDL]

A squatch using a car to kill a deer for it is interesting and reminded me of something I shared a while back.

 

My mother relayed to me a first hand story from a relative in Colorado about three years ago.

 

He works as high end electronics installer out of Denver and had a job to perform an installation in Kremmling one morning.  He got up well before dawn to make the drive up the mountain.  As he got to the outskirts of Kremmling he was early and pulled his van over to idle on the side of the road and eat something while the sun came up.  He'd been sitting there about five minutes, and as the light improved he could make out about a dozen mounds lying on both sides of the road around him.  He realized that they were all dead deer.  It was at a point where there was a curve as the road came down a steep hill out of Kremmling and his first thought was that a semi had been coming down the hill just as the herd was crossing the road and hit a bunch of them.

 

Right about then he saw something large in his right side mirror as it moved up and slammed the side of his van so hard that the vehicle's weight shifted almost completely to the left wheels.  He'd encountered a squatch before and it scared the heck out of him.  He dropped his sandwich, shifted into drive, and took off.

[Twist]

That brings up a question JDL.  How does bigfoot view killing and does it respect the animals it kills so to say.  Does a BF use all of the animal so as not to waste it? If a BF came across a herd would it kill as many as it could or only take what it thinks it needs?  I do not believe there are many animals that kill for fun or sport but the closer BF is to man, does it change his propensity for "the hunt"

[JDL]

I don't think they venerate animals.

 

They certainly consume all of a bite-sized animal, I would assume in one gulp.  Dogs, cats, possums, etc, they probably leave the bigger bones.  It's been repeatedly reported that they will kill deer for a few choice bits, such as the liver.

[VAfooter]

8 hours ago, JDL said:

A squatch using a car to kill a deer for it is interesting and reminded me of something I shared a while back.

 

 

I have seen that theory proposed somewhere, years ago. I suspect it is more likely they know that deer/vehicle meetings happen regularly and hang out nearby for an easy meal.

[bipedalist]

Right, I think there is a reason they are often seen in highway ditches (roadkill diving). 

 

[WSA]

Of course, anyone who has spent time with the sighting database knows how relatively frequent road crossing sightings are, with and without deer also being spotted, so yeah....

 

Couple of points from an old insurance defense lawyer too:

 

-Determining legal fault does not matter when making a claim under collision coverage, as opposed to liability or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. (Collision coverage pays for your vehicles property damage, regardless of blame) As long as the adjuster is reasonably certain a fraud is not being perpetrated, the claim will likely be paid. If our driver knew fault didn't matter, it adds credibility to her story too. If you knew your claim was likely to be paid regardless, why would you volunteer a story that (to many) is completely fantastical, just to justify your actions? Well, you wouldn't.   

 

-The vehicle's Event Data Recorder (EDR or "black box") will only capture vehicle speed/acceleration/steering and de-acceleration data if the vehicle is not operated after the collision event. In other words, if you drive your vehicle after the collision, that information is lost. The EDR is constantly updating with the most recent information. The "window" varies by vehicle mfg., I believe. If our driver here hit the deer and then drove home, that information was overwritten on the EDR.  

[Guest WesT]

In the fall, when hunting season begins, the deer are out in the road like crazy around here. The explanation goes "the hunters are running them out of the woods".

 

Then I noticed this spring they were out in the road like crazy again..... but hunting season is over. Kinda makes me wonder what's up with that.

[MIB]

Depends on when your hunting season is.    Certainly we don't have hunters in enough numbers to push the deer out in the road, however, the end of regular rifle deer season roughly coincides with the start of the rut.   In the high country, the downward migration from areas that will be under deep snow towards areas which will at least have LESS snow begins a few weeks before that.    There are two reasons, besides hunters, for a fall migration of deer that far precedes the presence of man.     I have also run into an upward migration back towards the high country in spring a couple times though it is often less pronounced (here).   At that time I sometimes see large bachelor herds of bucks with antlers still in velvet, less than fully formed.

 

In these cases, it is driven by weather and availability of food.

 

MIB

[Guest WesT]

I appreciate the explanation MIB.... makes sense.

[Incorrigible1]

Many states have a variety of deer hunting seasons. Firearm, archery, muzzle-loading, late firearm, etc.

[SWWASAS]

In this part of the PNW,  near my old research area,  a deer avoiding hunters,   would avoid the roads.      Hunters drive the logging roads looking for deer.   Yes I am stupid enough to be in the field during hunting season.    I have even had hunters stop and ask me if I had seen any deer.    I usually lie.    If they are too lazy to get out of their vehicles,  I want the deer to have a better chance.   I know from first person experience,   cougars will chase deer across a road in front of me.  I suspect BF will do the same thing.    So perhaps some of the seemingly suicidal deer running across roads in front of vehicles,   figure they have a better chance when being chased by BF,   if the human slows down or stops,  than staying away from the road.    At least they have a chance with the vehicle.    They may not be able to outrun a BF for long.    I remember a report about an exhausted deer or elk coming into a human camp and laying down after being chased by BF.     Maybe some of the deer in urban areas,  like Ashland Oregon,   are there because it is safer than the mountains around there.     The elk herds in Seaside and Gearheart Oregon might be avoiding BF in the mountains around there.  

[VAfooter]

26 minutes ago, Incorrigible1 said:

Many states have a variety of deer hunting seasons. Firearm, archery, muzzle-loading, late firearm, etc.

 

 

I think loincloth and Bowie knife season is pretty much year round...  

 

[MIB]

39 minutes ago, SWWASAS said:

Maybe some of the deer in urban areas,  like Ashland Oregon,   are there because it is safer than the mountains around there. 

 

Incorrect.   Safety is secondary.   It is because of water availability in the dry season and the effects of snow level in winter.    The predators come into town with the deer, they're no safer, maybe less safe, in town.   Assumptions will trip you up.

 

MIB

[norseman]

She should have hit it with her car door...