Mankind 1. Nature 0.

~ beetleypete

I was very pleased to hear that one of my oldest friends had reason to visit Norfolk this week. I arranged to meet him yesterday at a seafood restaurant on the north coast, in a small place called West Runton.

After a dismal damp morning in Beetley, the short drive north saw a welcome change in the weather. By the time we were sitting down to eat, it was pleasantly warm, almost too hot. We had a good catch-up of course, as we had not seen each other for close to two years. The food was fresh, and very tasty too. A pleasant way to spend a couple of hours indeed.

On the way home, I took the quiet country route. Driving in pleasant evening sunlight, even though it was past eight pm, I reflected on what a nice place this is to live, when the weather is fine.

Approaching the village of Guist on a narrow road, a deer suddenly ran out from the bushes to my right. Despite hard braking, I could not possibly avoid it, and I hit the animal at a speed of around 50 mph. The poor thing was catapulted along the road before coming to a stop on the left-hand verge. I saw it twitch briefly, and then it moved no more.

It was a difficult place to stop, on a small fast road, close to a bend. I concluded that getting out to check on the deer, which appeared to be a female Roe Deer, was potentially too dangerous, and continued my journey. When the road became wider, I stopped the car by some houses in Guist, and checked for damage. One front panel was out of alignment, though easily popped back with a hard push. Otherwise, the car appeared to be undamaged.

I carried on to Beetley, feeling very sad for the unfortunate deer, who had fallen victim to a technology that was not in its nature to anticipate.

61 thoughts on “Mankind 1. Nature 0.”

  3. Sadly, humanity has encroached on the natural areas, then wonders why some species – like wolves, coyotes and foxes – fight back. But the deer in the UK can’t. Now, if you tried hitting a moose…

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    1. After all the decades we have had cars on the road, you might think that deer would have evolved some knowledge of how dangerous they are. But with 70,000 incidents of cars hitting deer every year in the UK, they have obviously never worked it out.
      Thanks, Roland.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  4. So sorry Pete. I’m glad you’re okay since it can often injure the car and driver too. Yesterday here a ferry boat hit a whale in Puget Sound. I didn’t even want to read the article when I saw the headline. Another sad interaction between man and nature, sadly unavoidable. 😦

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  6. We had a large deer run across the road right in front of the car only a block from our house. We were driving very slowly or we would have hit it for sure. It was a real shock. I am sorry you went through actually hitting it.

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  7. Should have put it in the boot Pete and made biltong! We always had to be wary of deer in South Africa especially at dusk, when they would leap over walls onto the road (and cars). Hitting one of the big guys could cost you your life!

    I wasn’t sure if you need to report hitting a deer – this is what I found out: “call the police non emergency number 101 (not 999) to report the accident. They can then contact a professional to help the injured deer. ” It would be truly horrible if it was just badly injured.

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    1. Thanks for the tip, Jude. It looked pretty dead to me, before I drove away.
      People around here have been killed by hitting deer, so I was lucky it wasn’t a full-grown stag.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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    1. If it had waited five seconds, the road was completely clear behind me. They are not remotely endangered of course, but I would sooner not be the one to help control the deer population. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  11. I would be ever so sad, too.
    These accidents happen here all the time, with the many deer we have around, but it doesn’t make any one of them easier to bear. I’m always afraid when I see – out of my office window – deer crossing or attempting to cross the road.

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    1. I find it strange that they never seem to learn about the dangers of roads. No matter how many are killed, they just keep crossing. It must be something instinctive in them, that need to get to ‘the other side’. But it is sad indeed, Pit.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  12. As you can imagine, I have had many close encounters, but always have missed, (so far). Back in Michigan, I was hit by a buck once. I pulled up to a stop sign half of a mile from home and bam. He was knocked out briefly, then got up and ran off. $600 later, my vehicles’ door was like new. You are lucky there was no cost to your encounter. Nonetheless, the encounter takes a toll on one, shakes one up, so to speak and takes a while to stop playing it in your mind, even the close encounters. Take a few deep breaths when that happens. Warmest regards, Theo

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    1. Thanks, Theo. I have yet to see if the car was affected in some way. There was little visible damage, but you never know, with my luck. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Thanks, Charlie. I have hit a couple of pheasants before, but didn’t feel distressed about those. The deer made me feel really unsettled though.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  14. Your guardian angel’s advice: “Roe, roe, roe your car gently down the road, dear.”

    “I arranged to meet him yesterday at a seafood restaurant. We had a good ketchup.”
    Fishy advice: “Never put a good ketchup on seafood.”

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    1. It was strangely upsetting, Jennie. Mine was the only car on that road at the time, so it was doubly unlucky for the poor animal to have chosen that exact moment to try to cross.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  16. This is how quickly joy and suffering come together. A sad accident. Maybe not too much has happened to the deer. Nice that you could lure someone to Norfolk. Lol
    Btw, you’re not fully digitized yet. Otherwise you would have posted a photo of the food in the restaurant. 🙂 Have a nice afternoon! Michael

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  18. Sad experience, Pete, but it does remind me of this old recording. Also considering your time working with the police communication centre. Be warned, there’s some strong language throughout.

    Incidentally, I see there can be around 70,000 deer collisions annually here in the UK. You are not alone.

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    1. Thanks, BF. That’s a crazy 999 call!
      I heard a story on the local news here 2/3 years ago of a young man who was killed when he hit a large stag with his car. 70,000 a year is very high indeed.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. I had a close call myself about ten years ago, driving back from Oxford. As I turned a bend, I caught sight of something moving in my peripheral vision, and slowed just in time to see a herd of running deer leap a four foot boundary wall and dash across the road into a wood. An amazing spectacle and luckily no damage done.

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  19. Such a heartbreaking experience. In Australia, we have a number to call so wildlife carers can come out and check if the animal can be saved or if there are young that need to be cared for.

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  20. Aw, that is sad. You should though have popped it in your boot and sold it to a local butcher 🙂
    I once had a pheasant fly into my old rav 4, completely wiped out my front headlight unit (£150 to replace) and then had the audacity to fly off uninjured!

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