December 13 - Key Deer Were Hunted on Big Pine Key - a podcast by 43 Keys Media

On December 13, 1928, this small paragraph appeared in the Key West Citizen. "The Turtelino hunting crowd killed a large deer yesterday on No Name Key. The deer was killed by Eddie Marquez and weighed 90 pounds. Marquez is is the latest one of the crowd to meet success in the hunting expeditions carried our by the Turtelino Organization."

When I saw this paragraph, this one paragraph it made me sick to think about our beautiful key deer being stalked and hunted. So it sent me searching to find out more about why hunting expeditions were allowed in the Florida Keys. As it turns out, there's a long history of deer hunting and the Florida Keys. It flourished in the Keys in the 1930's. Most of the deer hunters were Cubans. They were former cigar makers from Key West and used "explorades", which the Spanish equivalent of hunting guides. It was one of those "explorades", a man named Turtelino, who caught the legendary Le Aeroplano. He was a tiny deer so fast that he seemed to fly. And he alluded hunters for nearly 10 years before he was finally bagged on Big Torch Key. The "explorades" had a profound knowledge of the ways of the deer. They learned that the creatures always fed on the windward side of the Keys, where the wind kept the mosquitoes away. The Key Deer is a subspecies - a smaller version of the Virginia whitetail, less than three feet high at the shoulder. A buck averages 65 to 80 pounds a doe about 40 pounds. Over many years, the deer has adapted to the aquatic world of the Keys.

By the 1930's, hunting had depleted the number of key deer to 20. In 1939, the Florida legislature banned deer hunting in the Keys. Since then, the efforts of many conservationist and agencies have helped the tiny deer make a comeback. The effort culminated in 1963 with the dedication of the National Key Deer Refuge.

The saving of the Key Deer from total extinction is generally credited to one man - Jack Watson. In 1946, Mr. Watson became an officer for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and quickly became the key deer's best friend. Realizing not only how adorable, but also how curiously close to extinction they were, he declared a one man war on poachers and used whatever tactics were necessary. These included disabling their car with bullets to the engine or a gas tank or setting their boats on fire. He also spent much time educating the government and public about the deer and in 1957, when the Key Deer refuge is finally established.

Although they were saved a hair from extinction. The deer were then confronted with major habitat losses during the 1960's, 70's and 80's due to human expansion and construction. Officially put on the endangered species list in 1967, and it remains there today. The major reason is closely linked to its very limited habitat range. Existing population estimates hover around 800 in mid 2017. However, the vast majority are concentrated on Big Pine and No Name Keys - two islands located right next to each other encompassing less than 12 square miles total. The Key Deer also faced a screw worm epidemic in 2016 where approximately 10% of the herd was lost to the horrible screw worm outbreak. A year later, the Key Deer had to survive Hurricane Irma. Although No Name Key and Big Pine were declared mandatory evacuation areas, some residents refused to evacuate. Whether you were here or whether you were evacuated, we all couldn't wait to hear whether the herd had survived the storm. Those first reports of Key Deer sightings after Irma came through were amazing. We all rejoiced!

Since the screw worm outbreak, activists have taken things into their own hands and formed nonprofits to help save the Key Deer. Comprised of Key Deer lovers, protectors, advocates and watchers, one of those groups formed is SaveOurKeyDeer.org. If you haven't checked it out, that is their website - http://SaveOur KeyDeer.org - you can find out the entire history of the Key Deer.

Even as heartbreaking it...

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