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More arresting, however, was what examinations of the deer turned up. They were skinny, and females expected to be carrying fawns weren’t. Deer had been limping on broken bones, likely from crashes with cars. One had been shot before. The hunters, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) wildlife arm, left Roseville believing that “an overabundant deer population in questionable health still remains in the city” despite all the gunfire. Their report suggested that local reluctance to bring down Bambi may be preventing wildlife scientists from doing what they believe is needed to protect the animals’ welfare. One possibility being considered by the DNR is a statewide ban on feeding deer. Such bans, condemned by wildlife managers for a variety of reasons, are imposed now only in piecemeal fashion across the metro area by individual jurisdictions. Blaine went that route just this spring, and Roseville in 2015. But it’s far from a universal practice and attracts anger when done. Still, one of the most striking findings from a round of public hearings throughout the state in recent months, said Adam Murkowski, the state’s top deer analyst, was the degree of support for thatproposition. “In the 12 meetings we had,” he said, “it surprised a lot of folks inside DNR how people are putting together the puzzle that when they see the wildlife gathering at a feeding site it creates issues: unnatural concentrations, collisions with cars. It stops deer from going where they traditionally winter and can compromise their ability to survive. “Public input shows people want us to explore \[how to handle\] feeding of deer and all that litany of things that aren’t good for deer.” ‘No magic number’ In the case of the Roseville findings, park professionals and wildlife experts differ over how much they should be concerned about the observations and whether deer densities should be throttled back, Shawn Riley, who teaches human dimensions of wildlife management at Michigan State University, said he’s comfortable letting local politicians hold sway. “There is no magic number that I can tell you or anyone else can tell you is right for a community,” he said. “Citizens living right next door will disagree on whether there are too many or too few.” For instance, a lack of deer fetuses may be nature’s way of adapting to circumstances, he said.