My Nov. 23, 2019, letter to the The Post, “When wildlife meets suburbia,” described the plight of a beautiful buck hobbling across Montrose Parkway, his rear haunch dangling after being struck by a car. I asked the Montgomery County Council to address the proliferation of injured and starving deer in the area, either by culling them through birth control or otherwise. The response from readers was varied, though the council was silent.
Last month, for the first time in nearly a decade, I planted “deer delectables” in planters around my house. Unconsciously, I had registered the lack of deer in my neighborhood. When we moved into the area more than 30 years ago, a deer sighting was rare given that they had so much wild area around us to live in. As development increased in the area, deer became desperate for food and emboldened, venturing through my yard and others, eviscerating my hostas and lilies, to the point at which the plants were completely gone.
Now, we have come full circle with no deer in the neighborhood. On my walks, I see only the same three deer — two adults and a juvenile. The remainder of the herd doesn’t exist.
All along Montrose Parkway, trees have been bulldozed to make way for multifamily housing. The new people who will be moving in will never know the beautifully wooded area, or the deer that inhabited it.
It is likely those in Montgomery County knew what I didn’t: that the county’s development policies would ultimately resolve the issue.
Joseph P. Petito, Bethesda
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