By Callum Ludwig
On Wednesday 29 March a Kinglake truck driver had a terrifying jump start to his day when a deer launched into the air and through his windscreen in Launching Place.
Luke Ablitt was travelling on Dalry Road at about 7.30am when the car in front of him hit a deer and it rode over the bonnet and into the air.
Mr Ablitt said he saw a big, black object launching through the air out of the corner of his eye,
“I peeled my head to the right to shy away from it, and the next thing I know, there’s a deer in the passenger seat. The noise it made was a like a bomb going off, and I was only millimetres away from not being here,” he said.
“At that time in the morning, you don’t really see that many deer because the early traffic has scared them off and they push away from the road. When I’ve got an early morning at 4am or 5am you normally see a lot of deer and kangaroos then, but this was different.”
Luckily, both Mr Ablitt and the driver in front of him were uninjured and the deer had died on impact, so did not thrash and lash out at Mr Ablitt in a panic.
Mr Ablitt said the whole Yarra Valley is a hotspot for deer and kangaroos jumping out onto the road.
“Whether you’re coming from down the slide towards Yarra Glen, or you’re out Healesville way or where I was out the back of Yarra Junction, there’s plenty of them both at the moment and the problem is getting worse and worse because they’re making it harder and harder for people to go and get rid of these sort of animals.,” he said.
“In the end, I was just thankful that I could get to go home to my family and see my girls and my wife. I wasn’t dead, I wasn’t injured other than a couple of little cuts and bruises.”
Yarra Ranges Highway Patrol attended the incident, with Yarra Valley Towing and Eagle Towing and Salvage quickly on site to remove the vehicles.
The entire bonnet of the car which initially hit the animal was ripped off by the impact, and the Autosmart truck that Mr Ablitt was driving was dented and the windscreen smashed in by the deer.
Executive Officer at the Australian Deer Association Sean Kilkenny said deer behaviour tends to see them avoid human interaction, so freak incidents like these will remain relatively unlikely.
“Human and animal conflict is a reality of living in the same environment. There are pragmatic measures that can be applied to reduce these conflicts when they occur. It is worth noting that incidents with deer are coming off an extremely low base,” he said.
“The RACV published data from Wildlife Victoria for the 2021-22 financial year, which showed 4896 incidents involving kangaroos being struck by cars. Incidents involving deer were so low they did not even make the list.”
2022 estimates had the number of wild deer at over 1 million in Victoria, and in March 2022 the Victorian Government included the Yarra Ranges in the Peri-urban Deer Control Plan to manage the population in the area.
As part of the plan, $250,000 of grants were available to local councils and land managers to undertake safe control activities including sustainable hunting.
Mr Kilkenny said a multifaceted approach, including fencing and deer harvesting, can effectively alter animal movements.
“Emerging technology, such as virtual fences, is also showing great promise in reducing human and animal conflicts on our roads and private landowners have a broad array of tools available to help manage deer,” he said.
“This extends from engaging in an intensive deer reduction program with professionals or volunteers to ongoing minimisation with volunteers or even recreational hunting where the animal is utilised, and its meat providing many meals.”
