Well, it's official. The economy is REALLY BAD this Christmas. Just the other day five deer in Northern Indiana committed mass suicide by jumping off a bridge over I-69. I talked to a few bunny rabbits in the area that indicated the family of deer lost a lot of money in the stock market. Don't worry, the rabbits are hanging in there (but I'm concerned for the squirrels).
Five deer leap to deaths from I-69 bridge
MARKLE, Ind. -- Five deer that wandered onto a highway overpass jumped to their deaths onto Interstate 69, one of them crashing through a tractor-trailer's windshield, police said.
After the animals' fatal plunge, their mangled carcasses littered the expressway to the horror of motorists who approached Friday's scene in the northbound lanes of I-69.
Wells County EMS paramedic Andy Stimpson said he wasn't prepared for what he saw when he arrived at the crash scene at the U.S. 224 overpass about 20 miles southwest of Fort Wayne.
"It's the weirdest run I've ever had in 28 years," he said.
John Salb, a spokesman for the state Department of Natural Resources, said the deer may have been spooked by cars as they were crossing the overpass and jumped from the overpass, not knowing that a busy highway was far below them.
The 20- to 30-foot fall killed all five deer about 12:30 p.m. Friday, said Brian Jenks, a dispatcher with the Huntington County Sheriff's Department.
The last of the five deer went through the windshield of a tractor-trailer rig, but the driver was not injured, police said.
Late fall is a stressful time of year for deer as hunters push through fields and woods, hoping to scare deer out of their cover, said DNR spokesman Phil Bloom said.
Farmers are also removing the last of their crops from the fields, reducing the animals' food supply even as deer breeding season is in full swing.
Any of these factors could have pushed the deer onto the highway overpass, Bloom said.
The I-69/U.S. 224 interchange is a likely spot for wildlife and humans to collide. The west side of the interchange is bordered by privately owned fields and the Markle State Recreation area, which is popular with hunters, Jenks said.
The east side of the interchange, an area that's heavy with traffic, marks the edge of the town of Markle.
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7 comments:
The rumor mill rolls again. These deer did not intentionally commit suicide. Ever seen the movie Prancer? Deer today, they latch onto any old role model and they want to BE that deer. 'Nuff said.
Blessings,
~toni~
Good grief. This was too funny!
"....not knowing that a busy highway was far below them." Maybe they thought there was a river down there? If they would've known the highway was there would they have reconsidered?
"Yikes Mildred! Look at all those cars. We'd better not jump..."
I noticed you gave this post the label "deer suicide". I wonder how many more posts will appear here? :-)
I have heard the moles and the gophers are setting up an underground "black market" to buy goods that are in short supply. I too worry about the squirrels, they are a little "nuts!"
Haha! This is too funny! ...I mean...it must be a very sad day for all the woodland creatures that knew this "deer" family...
It all started when Oprah ran that segment on "A Holiday with the Lemmings".
Alex
PS NO; I don't watch Oprah--it was a joke! :)
So now I know that Alex sits around all day watching Oprah and Hannah likes to make puns.
Could you imagine- driving along the road and have a deer fall out of the sky, landing in your windshield. FREAKY- if it was closer to Christmas, one might guess Santa's sleigh had a malfunction
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