Deer Population

[At the Gates 2121]

My Wife and I were riding at battle creek this fourth of July. we ran my normal loop which for me is not that hard but it put my wife to the task. I always love seeing the veiws and wildlife. well this particular day we just crossed the road and were on the flat land before the 11 corner hill we see a fawn. it totally froze like we had head lights on, then darted. We rode out to the paved from there took the right to get get to the trail that goes to the stairs. at the top of this hill I saw 2 more deer still does. we get out of the stair and ride the wall switchback hill. at the top of this there were at least 4 more deer.. Cross the road again and climb the entrance and ride the newly worked bench cut with the rock drop at the end. we got to the tophard left corned that drops to the left and see 4 more does. we run the fern gully (what makes this trail so neat). and come out and thake the entrace exit back out. This is where I almost peed my pants. I saw a big I mean big 10-12 point buck just starring at us. we got the camera out and i tried to inch closer, I got got to about 25ft and it darted. We stopped at about 35 ft away. We turn around and see 2 bucks of equal and greater size. I felt it was amazing to see this, however on the same note 2 of these doe that I saw were quite thin due to the over population. My solution to this is take the cative couger that was at the river bottoms and let it loose on the deer at the battle creek. It would be better to see them killed by a natural predator than by the car that nail them on a consistant basis on hwy 61. The bucks that we saw were in magnificent shape. Still and awesome site to see I figuredi would share.

- Joel:) :D :banana:

[Hathor]

Cool. I love wildlife stories; thanks for posting.

[Magic]

Joel,

The bucks you and your wife seen have been there at Battle Creek for over 8 years now. You said you seen the 12 pointer, there is also an 8 pointer and 10 pointer. Those 3 bucks hang together till the rut starts. Yes there are quite a few deer down there. The DNR sends sharpshooters in there to thin out the heard. But for the past few years they leave these bucks alone. Kind of off limits for shooting. If you noticed the bucks racks are symetrical and are in full velvet right now. Glad you had the chance to see one of those big bad boys.:banana:

[halls]

I'am glad to hear those bucks are still there. 2 years ago i was riding at Battle and a couple of guys in camouflage were standing on the trail watching the big 10 pointer munching away. I asked them if they were riding. They looked at me like i was from France. I think they were poachers. Hopefully they never came back. The big buck acutally had some grey wiskers!

[Brick]

I think they were poachers. Hopefully they never came back.
They may have been legal hunters out looking for a spot to set up. Ramsey county frequently has a limited bowhunt in several of the county parks to help thin the herd in targeted areas. According to John Moriarity from the parks Dpt, they have been focusing on the does for the last couple of years, hoping that would have the largest impact on herd size.

Last year they culled over 20 from the herd in Snail Lake park.

[halls]

you might be right. The big buck was a sight to behold. HUGE. I've seen similiar deer at Lake Elmo late in the year. Riding at night at BC can be a real thrill .

[Panman]

There is a small family at Hillside. In the spring and fall you'll see 3-5 deer at once. Normaly in the far corner. Just a week ago I seen two fawns, with the white dots! That was cool, got close too.

[halls]

Yep, i saw firsthand the 3 big bucks together at Battle Creek saturday evening. I was riding in fern valley and there they were. 10 to 12 pointers? I rode right through them . They didn't even flinch. All three just kept munching away. I've never been that close to a buck in the wild. These guys definitely hang together! Where was my camera?

[Mo-Tay]

Bill, I beleive we met that day...I had the S-Works Epic. Those deer were definately big and it was a bit sketchy riding past them. They didn't flinch though...thank God! Otherwise I could have been an antler ornament...

[halls]

They were big bucks. I was at Afton on friday ,as i was coming down on some single towards the bottom parking lot, a big doe ran out in front of me. She came straight down hill just flying over anything and everything. I don't know why, but she was the best downhiller i've seen. I really liked that red s-works epic of yours. nice bike. watch out for the deer!:cool: