Key+Deer

We are the "Key" to their survival
media type="custom" key="7574603" ===The Key Deer, scientifically known as the //Odocoileus virginianus clavium//. Is native to the Florida Keys of the United States**.****So here are some of the "key" facts you should know about this wonderful animal:**===
 * Population has increased in the past 7 years from 200-400
 * Estimated that only 700 to 800 left in existence
 * Smaller version of the White Tail Deer
 * Weigh no more then a large dog


 * Not much has been done to try to save these animals. They have been become illegal to hunt in the US, and they are living in a couple handfuls of land filled areas near the waterfalls in Florida. The establishment of the National Key Deer Refuge in 1957, coupled with strong law enforcement, saved the herd from extinction. Today, traffic accidents account for about 70 percent of the Key deer fatalities each year. It's a situation that isn't likely to improve. Some of the things that can be done to help the existence of the Key Deer, is to lower the speed limits around the areas that the key deer is located. One group that is determined on saving the population of the Key Deer is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service**


 * The Key Deer share all of the same traits as the White Tailed Deer, minus the fact that the Key Deer is smaller in size then that other deer. Their habitat consists of grass and trees, so pretty much they live in the forest areas.**


 * They were added to the Endangered list in 1940, but because they got their population size back up, they sadly have been taken off of the the endangered list. The main reasons that the population size dropped, is the fact that they use to be over hunted, and because of all of the traffic that goes through the Florida keys every year, there were a lot of car accidents involving Key Deers being hit and getting killed or severely injured.**

" Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544, 87 Stat. 884), as amended -- Public Law 93-205, approved December 28, 1973, repealed the Endangered Species Conservation Act of December 5, 1969 (P.L. 91-135, 83 Stat. 275). The 1969 Act had amended the Endangered Species Preservation Act of October 15, 1966 (P.L. 89-669, 80 Stat. 926)." [Digest of Federal Resource Laws of Interest to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]
 * The Endangered Species Act, was/is an act that was passed to protect the survival of any animals population that has dropped to an extremely low number (such as dropping form about 1,000 to about 50).**


 * In my opinion i think that they should add something to the Endangered Species Act, that states that even if an animal's population skyrockets to an extremely high number, that as soon as it gets off of the Endangered Species list, that it should still be illegal to hunt them so that there wont be a chance of them becoming endangered again because of over hunting.**

Unknown. //Endangered Species Act of 1973//. Retrieved from http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/esact.html

Timothy, M., O'Keefe. //How Key Deer// //Became Endangered//. Retrieved from http://www.floridawildlifeviewing.com/florida_animals_wildlife/key-deer-endangered.htm