Key Deer

On our way out of the Florida Keys, we unsuccessfully searched for dragonflies on Big Pine Key. The island was decimated by Hurricane Irma the previous fall.  Only about 950 Key Deer exist, mostly on Big Pine and No Name keys. Scientists are unsure how these tiny deer survive the winds and storm surge that accompanies hurricanes. Scientists had other things to worry about. Big Pine Key looked ripped apart five months later, but only 21 of the deer are known to have died from the storm.

These tiny deer succumb more frequently from being hit by cars, poached (dead or alive), parasitic screwworms often found in livestock, and global warming. If the Florida Keys go under water as a result of rising sea levels, the Key Deer are doomed. As it is, Big Pine and No Name Key are only some three feet above sea level. Warming is also destroying coral reefs, which results in the keys’ being even more vulneratble to hurricanes (Bittle 2017).