see my folks but since they have passed on, we haven't been to the Ozarks in some time. Going through the state park (Bennett Spring, MO), we would literally see hundreds of deer in the valley/trout stream prior to going down highway OO enroute to my folks' place. We always had to go very slowly down this road being so many deer there, especially at night and not very many streetlights in the park/enroute out of the park while on highway OO.

It's kind of a shame in a way, there are almost too many deer, being that they are fewer hunters, and people have cut back allowing hunters on their land being that some have abused their access while hunting on private property. The biggest danger that we have w/ so many deer is that literally everybody I know down there (the few neighbors that we have) have literally hit a deer. The deer also seem to know that there's a state park there, where hunting isn't allowed, thus would seem to gather there, knowing it was a safe spot.

Very rarely the collusions would kill the deer but sometimes it would. At least, one of our neighbors would gather the killed deer once we called it in to the Dept. of Conservation (Missouri) to let them know of the kill/accident. So at least, the hit deer would provide a benefit to those who could use it.

and I see small groups, adult + kids later in the day; first I've seen recently. Not large human population here, so few accidents.