DEAR DEER.

This article reports on the increase in collisions between cars and deer in the U.S. as of October 1990, due to the growth of deer population and the migration of human population into formerly rural areas. The National Safety Council estimates that up to 350,000 deer and more than 100 motorists die each year from such collisions. Officials have responded by posting signs and installing reflectors along roads, expanding deer-hunting seasons, setting up off-road feeding stations to discourage the deer from crossing roads in search of food, and even building underpasses for deer. Some motorists are taking precautions of their own, and a small industry has sprung up marketing bumper-mounted ultrasonic whistles that frighten deer off the road. However, the efficacy of the whistles is debated. The problem continues to grow, especially in areas like Princeton Township in New Jersey, where hunting is banned altogether.