Grottoes in Albemarle County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Shenandoah’s Deer

By Charles T. Harrell, August 9, 2011

1. Shenandoah’s Deer Marker

Inscription. “Look! There’s a deer!” Visitors often exclaim these words in Shenandoah national park-an amazing fact since deer were not here in 1926 when Congress authorized Shenandoah. Years of hunting and other human activity had eliminated them. In 1934, thirteen white-tailed deer were released in the park. Today Shenandoah’s estimated 5,000 deer are descended from those thirteen or others that migrated from surrounding forests.

Shenandoah’s deer illustrate the “recycled” nature of Shenandoah national park, a park still recovering from yeas of human exploitation.

You can help the deer.
Drive slowly. Each year cars kill 60-100 deer on Skyline Drive. You can help reduce these numbers by obeying the 35 mph speed limit.
Don’t feed or approach them. Unnatural foods sicken deer. Hand-fed deer are easy targets for illegal hunters who lure deer close then kill them. Deer drawn to roadsides by feeding are often struck by vehicles. Do not feed any animals in the park. Pull you car well off the road to view deer along Skyline Drive. Enjoy them from a safe distance. Rangers strictly enforce these and other rules to protect you and the park.

(caption) Spring Fawns are born Spots remain 3-4 months and provide protective camouflage.
Summer “Velvet” covering a buck’s growing antlers

By Charles T. Harrell, August 9, 2011

2. Shenandoah’s Deer Marker

protects bone-nourishing blood vessels.

Location. 38° 15.731′ N, 78° 39.66′ W. Marker is in Grottoes, Virginia, in Albemarle County. Marker can be reached from Skyline Drive. Touch for map. Marker is located at the parking lot of Loft Mountain Wayside along Skyline Drive. Marker is at or near this postal address: Loft Mountain Wayside, Free Union VA 22940, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Skyline Drive (here, next to this marker); Rekindling Nature (approx. 1.2 miles away); Nature Without Us, For Us (approx. 1.4 miles away); Escape Route (approx. 1½ miles away); Appalachian Trail (approx. 2.1 miles away); Big Run Watershed (approx. 2.1 miles away); Civilian Conservation Corps (approx. 3.6 miles away); Port Republic (approx. 6.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grottoes.

Categories. • Animals •

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on August 11, 2011, by Charles T. Harrell of Woodford, Virginia. This page has been viewed 384 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 11, 2011, by Charles T. Harrell of Woodford, Virginia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.