The Director of the Wapello County Conservation Board says motorists usually see more deer on the roadways once steamy weather arrives.
Rick Tebbs says just like humans, deer like to stay in the shade to keep cool during the day, especially with the recent hot weather. When the sun sets, Tebbs says that’s when deer start looking for food.
“It’s cooler now. I’ve been hungry. I haven’t eaten all day and so now I’m going to try to cross roads where I can get to new soybean fields that are planted or grassy areas, or the ditch along the highway [that] just got mowed so the new grass that is trying to replace it is nice and green and tender.” Rick Tebbs, Director of the Wapello County Conservation Board
Tebbs says the deer we are most likely to see while driving around this time of the year are very young.
“Those six-week-old fawns are really naive to cars. So they think nothing about running right in front of you. I mean, they don’t have a concept of speed and different things.” Rick Tebbs, Director of the Wapello County Conservation Board
Tebbs suggests drivers should go easy on the gas pedal while traveling at night.
“I would slow down. That’s always the best method. Slow down and try to take your time and hopefully, you can have your brights on so that they’re (deer) more visible but when you got oncoming traffic, you gotta turn your brights off so you can’t see as far.” Rick Tebbs, Director of the Wapello County Conservation Board
Southeast Iowa will see a small reprieve from the hot weather. The National Weather Service forecast shows a chance of thunderstorms on Tuesday night and thunderstorms throughout the day on Wednesday.
