Herd of 30 Deer to Escape Threat of Extinction
FREMONT — Thirty deer, the subject of proposals that they be shot, sterilized or allowed to die of disease, will instead be moved from a suburban regional park to a wilderness area and studied for stress, officials said Friday.
The tiny herd of Columbian black-tailed deer, believed to be descendants of those hunted by Ohlone Indians before Europeans arrived in California, must be moved because of the drought and encroaching civilization, authorities said.
‘ ‘These deer are trapped in a completely unnatural setting,” said Ira Bletz, supervisor of Ardenwood Regional Park. “Civilization has just crept up on them.”
The deer are scheduled to be trucked by mid-November about 20 miles east to the Ohlone wilderness area near Sunol. The animals will be fitted with radio transmitter collars to track their progress.
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