Longueuil grapples with deer
Since we’ve discussed this before, I’ve got to post this story on how Longueuil has even more deer in Michel-Chartrand park than it did when this was first a story, and is still not decided what to do about it. The park can support 15 of them, but a rough count finds 70 deer now nibbling at the greenery there. That’s a lot of deer.
Blork 13:53 on 2021-07-30 Permalink
But they’s so adorbs! 🙂
What few people mention is that there’s an authorized hunting area in the Boisé du Tremblay, literally 2.5km from Parc Michel Chartrand. (And yes, that’s a whole other discussion about how it’s legit to shoot high powered rifles just a few hundred metres from people’s houses, but I digress.) Maybe they oughta just Pied-Piper a few dozen over to the Boisé come hunting season.
Spi 16:18 on 2021-07-30 Permalink
That’s fine, let nature run its course. The same people that were against culling them will be the first to complain when little Timothy finds the body of doe that died of starvation or they run one over with their car because they’ve left the confines of the parc to look for more food.
Blork 17:26 on 2021-07-30 Permalink
The problem with letting nature run its course is that it’s very hard on the whole ecosystem. After the Asian ash beetle and then this year’s unprecedented swarm of caterpillars, the park is looking grim. Dead trees everywhere. There are sections where it seems like there are more dead trees than living ones (although fortunately there are also parts where there are not many dead trees). All those Bambis chewing up new growth does not help. As much as I love having a doe sniff my fingers every day when I’m out for a walk, it’s a real problem.
CE 17:42 on 2021-07-30 Permalink
That’s a lot of meat.
Kate 21:03 on 2021-07-30 Permalink
Maybe Longueuil needs to start a tradition of transhumance where they have a festival: clear the streets between Michel-Chartrand park and the Boisé du Tremblay, and lure the deer to relocate to the Boisé, where happy hunters can deal with the surplus, and then everyone can have venison kebabs.
Blork 22:01 on 2021-07-30 Permalink
The Annual Longueuil Venison Kebab Festival works for me!
qatzelok 23:23 on 2021-07-30 Permalink
I like the Transhumance idea a lot.
I would go a step further and demolish all the housing between parc Michel-Chartrand and Boisé du Tremblay, as well as the suburban cul-de-sac subdivisions between PMC and the river.
The waterside highway 30 could also be removed in this section, and drivers would have to “portage it” for a few km so that the deer can access fresh water without stress.
MarcG 11:27 on 2021-08-01 Permalink
I just want to say that I love the mental image of people portaging their automobiles.