Every now and then while outside you spot someone doing something peculiar, but a recent incident had wildlife officials scratching their heads. An eagle nest cam happened to catch a man dumping a deer carcass in close proximity to the nest.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) popular EagleCam recently caught something far stranger than anything typically occurring in an eagle’s nest yesterday. According to Bring Me The News, the EagleCam caught someone getting rid of a deer carcass right around the nest. The clip is available to view on their official YouTube channel, with the camera beginning to focus on the deer when there is one hour and 55 minutes remaining.
After watching, it’s obvious why DNR officials were a bit concerned. In the video, we see the camera pivot from the eagle in its nest to the road. After doing that, it tilts down to show a red pickup truck and a dead deer on the ground. Moments pass and the man gets back into the truck and drives off.
After some digging, they discovered a driver hit and killed a deer on the road near the EagleCam nest and took it away from the road. DNR officials didn’t reveal the location to protect the eagle nest and also assisted the birds in another way. Staff moved the deer closer to the nest so the eagles could feed on it. Maggie Snyder with Minnesota DNR shared this was to protect them from venturing too close to the road.
“Carrion is an important food source for eagles, but eagles often are killed on roads while attempting to feed on carcasses,” Snyder added. “Now that it is closer to the nest, this deer carcass will be a safe and nourishing food source for our resident eagles.”
City in South Dakota Donates 6,400 Pounds of Deer Meat to Feed the Hungry
Minnesota DNR staff helped feed eagles there with a deer but a city in South Dakota has them beat when it comes to helping people with deer meat. Rapid City, South Dakota officials recently announced it donated 6,400 pounds of deer meat to feed the hungry.
South Dakota’s Deer Harvest Program is an annual event that began in 1995 to help the deer population thrive, address overpopulation issues of them in the city, and donate meat. This year, they aimed to harvest 250 but only 240 tags were filled, according to the Rapid City Journal. Additionally, nine tested positive for chronic wasting disease, so officials couldn’t harvest them. Nonetheless, the 6,401 pounds they received went to Feeding South Dakota, which helps the hungry there.
Parks Division Manager Scott Anderson issued a statement about the successful harvest. “Overall the Deer Harvest Program went well again this winter, falling just short of the quota set by Game, Fish & Parks,” he said. “It’s a win-win program for the community. It is a great way to effectively manage deer in the city limits at a safe and healthy level, and an opportunity to donate meat to people in need.”
