Drivers should take note, it’s mid-October and deer are on the move.

While deer and vehicle collisions occur throughout the year, deer movement increases during the breeding season, peaking around the first week of November. Combined with the crops coming out and shorter daylight hours, that adds up to more deer and vehicle collisions according to the Iowa DNR.  

Deer tend to travel in groups, and drivers should try to avoid focusing on the first deer they see because there may be another one coming behind it. Iowa’s deer population isn’t distributed equally across the state, but more often associated with timber habitat and river corridors. When passing through these areas, drivers should be aware of the surroundings, slow their speed and watch from fencerow to fencerow for deer on the move.

State law allows people who hit a deer to take the meat under a salvage tag. Contact the local sheriff’s office to get a tag. The whole animal must be taken during a salvage, it is illegal to only take the antlers.