Monmouth County Leads NJ In Deer Accidents

MONMOUTH COUNTY, NJ — Which New Jersey county had to have the state remove the most dead deer carcasses?

That would be Monmouth County, which far and away led the state with deer carcass removal, at 999 dead deer found lying by the side of the road last year. NJ 101.5 asked the New Jersey Department of Transportation for a county-by-county breakdown of all the deer they were asked to remove from local roadways in 2016. Monmouth County by far led the state, with 999 deer carcasses. Monmouth County usually tops this list every year, but an increasing number of deer are also getting hit in Monmouth County: As Patch reported, 642 dead deer had to be removed by the DOT in 2014. In total, state DOT crews removed 6,525 deer carcasses statewide in 2016, an increase of 400 more than they removed in 2015.

The only other county that came close was rural, woodsy Hunterdon County, at 933, followed by Somerset County, at 810. Urban Hudson County had the fewest. The full list is here:

• Monmouth — 999
• Hunterdon — 933
• Somerset — 810
• Morris — 686
• Mercer — 566
• Middlesex — 479
• Warren — 439
• Sussex — 374
• Bergen — 308
• Burlington — 153
• Sussex — 374
• Ocean — 249
• Passaic — 120
• Camden — 83
• Gloucester — 79
• Essex — 69
• Essex — 69
• Union — 69
• Atlantic — 41
• Salem — 38
• Cumberland — 27
• Cape May — 2
• Hudson — 1

October and November usually see the highest number of deer accidents in New Jersey, which can be fatal for drivers. That's because mating or "rutting" season peaks in November and that's when deer become more active. It's the time of year when they're most likely to unexpectedly dart out into the road — especially at dawn and dusk — times when it's already difficult for drivers to see!

Photo credit: MorgueFile