Humans can be pretty big buttholes if you didn’t already know. Some things they do are straight up cruel.
Have you ever heard of Key Deer? They’re an endemic species of Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys. They are miniature deer compared to the ones from New Jersey, so they are super cute. Since these islands are surrounded by saltwater and connected by one thin highway, the Key Deer can’t travel due to their need for freshwater. Big Pine is the reason that the Key Deer can live here because it has a few “blue holes.” These holes are isolated from the waterways, so they provide a safe supply of drinking water to hydrate the deer. Though, they still have to watch out for the Gators!
Key Deer are in DANGER! Why? Thanks to those inconsiderate (fugly) humans, of course. Why would we kill these cute, little baby deers? We are addicted to fossil fuels, which thin the atmosphere, warm the planet, and cause more frequent and intense hurricanes. This is climate change, which you should know unless you're living under a rock.
In August 2017, category 4 Hurricane Irma made landfall on Cudjoe Key, just south of Big Pine Key, with winds up to 130 mph. The storm surge in the deers’ protected area (see photo) on Big Pine Key was about 4 feet, while on the seaside of the island, it was 8-10 feet. Some brave souls stayed in the area during the storm. The deer hopped on the lee side of roofs to hide from flooding and wind gusts. Our poor babies. See why humans are cruel? It is estimated that about 125 deer were lost out of about 800, which is less than refugee managers predicted, thankfully. After the storm, there was no freshwater since the saltwater inundated all of the blue holes. The poor deer traveled everywhere in search of water. The local residents were advised to leave out fresh water for them.
Though humans are cruel and causing catastrophes like hurricanes to worsen, some of us have the heart to help repair our damages. Leaving water out for our endangered Key Deer after the storm and providing them refuge space is the least we could do since we've taken over all of the other natural lands.
Find info about the Big Pine Key Deer Refuge here:
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/National_Key_Deer_Refuge/
Find a detailed report on Hurricane Irma here:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL112017_Irma.pdf
Jackie, I totally agree with you, humans are the main cause of destruction and extinction of many animals. Humans tend to be selfish but it is amazing to see how the locals were willing to help these little deers by providing them water. I hope that the population of little deers grows!
ReplyDeleteHumans are pretty fugly compared to these sweet baby angels. Its so sad to know we are in our 6th mass extinction all because of our selfishness and greed. I looked it up and it sadly seems like these guys don't have an SSP (species survival plan). Florida Keys definitely should start planning out sanctuaries dedicated specifically for them and captive breeding programs in zoos in other facilities. Hopefully by this, we will able to raise their numbers in captivity and maybe release them in to the wild some day to increase wild populations too. I hope these guys increase their numbers soon because I was super sad we didn't get to see any of these guys today, hopefully some day this week!
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