ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603180063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Bambi might no longer be safe in Richmond's sprawling 450-acre James River Park.
With deer sightings on the upswing, a park official has found two deer carcasses in the park this winter, indicating poaching or dumping.
Ralph White, the park's manager and senior naturalist who found the carcasses, said Friday he didn't know if the deer had been slain by park poachers.
``But if you pressed me ... I would say there is a likelihood that the deer were killed in the park,'' White said. ``But I have no proof.''
The park's growing deer population may lure poachers, White said. ``We have reached the level that bad hunters - poachers - see so many [deer] that they come into the parks to shoot them. When someone comes in to poach, it's an indication we have a lot of animals.''
People have also reported recently seeing deer in other parks, he said. ``The [deer] population has been increasing in the suburbs, so why shouldn't it here in the parks?''
``We do know there have been incidents of poaching in the park,'' White said. Two years ago, archers killed two deer in the park and were observed by some railroad workers, he said.
White found one deer carcass Jan. 20 in a trash can at a popular teen-age gathering spot and swimming hole. The deer had been butchered and its head was missing, White said.
White found the carcass of a doe Feb. 15 in a wooded portion of the park. This deer had also been butchered, he said. ``There were holes in the skin of this young doe, but I'm not skillful enough to say what caused the holes,'' he said.
White said posting of more ``no hunting'' signs in the park would not deter poachers.
``I think people know that they can't hunt in a city park.''
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