Once again, I have the opportunity to "scoop" the local" mainstream news media. Just got a flash from the Associated Press that our state capital, Juneau was affected by a major electrical outage on Sunday. The outage affected about 10,000 residents of our capital city.
According to a spokes person for the Alaska Electric Light and Power the outage was created when an Eagle made a failed take off attempt. The Eagle, weighed down by the deer, apparently failed to clear the transmission lines. Both the Eagle and Deer were killed on impact with the high voltage wires. 
Although, I do have a warning on my site pertaining to the subject of embellishment, I must honestly admit to you that only part of deer was dead when the Eagle launched into flight. The Eagle was hauling away the "head" of the Deer so it must have been dead, however, the spokes person did not say if the remainder of the deer was dead or not when the Eagle made off with the head.
There is a reason that we do not have deer on our major road systems in Alaska. Last year, there was about (reported) 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions in the United States. These accidents contributed 150 deaths (humans) and $1.1 Billion dollars in property damage. The number of deer killed in these collisions was not tabulated but one must assume the casualty rate was high.
If you plan on traveling the highways of our great nation, stay out of the midwest and east coast if you want to reduce your chances of having an encounter with a deer. Those states having the highest number of vehicle-deer encounters include Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, Virginia, Minnesota, Texas, Indiana, and South Carolina in that order. If you love a good venison steak, you may want to keep these states in mind the next time you go on a hunting trip, evidently they have a high population of deer. However, keep in mind that if you see an Eagle carrying a deer, you may take a shot at the Deer but you are not permitted to shoot the Eagle.
-22°F in Deadhorse, AK
8 years ago
