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Walk at night, with horns, through the historic centers of the towns around Varese. Walking through Lozza, Bodio, Gazzada. Some time ago in downtown Gallarate, even on the highway. They are deer, majestic animals that can reach two quintals in weight.
There is a reason for this ever closer presence to man: there are many.
The matter could end here, but it is difficult to settle for the history of those who study these animals. Yes, traffic accidents and the potential danger for those who travel in some areas of the province. But there is more, which has to do with conservation and therefore the future of our forests.
HOW MANY The budget “to the boss” does not exist. But the deer is hunted by selection and for this it is necessary to carry out censuses counting the populations and therefore according to the experts, a rough estimate raises the number of these ungulates in the province to about a thousand units, located mainly in the north from Varese, but also in other areas such as Parque Pineta where there is a discreet community that reproduces rapidly, and especially in the main waterways. In some cases in Ticino, but especially along the Olona and the smaller water networks that are degrading towards Lake Varese: the often young population moves easily through the “ecological corridors”. Always on the go, always looking for food. This explains the presence of many animals on the roads, in this period aided by less night traffic (see curfew).
THE RETURN «The province of Varese is not a very critical area. However, we are in a phase of expansion of the deer population and the perspective analyzes make us understand that all the efforts related to the protection and conservation of the fauna are paying off. A few decades ago, many raised the alarm over the absence of animals in the forest, and now they are back. Adriano Martinoli, associate professor in the Department of Applied Theoretical Sciences at the University of Insubria in Varese, explains. An added value that resembles that of a well-cared for landscape and “seeing a deer, finding a scene in the forest during a walk is undoubtedly the symptom that the animals are there and a sign of the good state of the environment: they arrive because they find quality forests and good production. But… “
CHILDREN’S PLANTS But there is a “but” in this narrative that Professor Martinoli always offers. “We are not yet in a critical phase, but the deer is a species considered“ environmental engineer ”, that is, an animal whose presence is capable of modifying the surrounding environment. It happens, for example, to the beaver that builds wooden dams and is going to modify the water courses. But also with the deer that interrupts the renewal of the forest with grazing, because it feeds on the renewed apices thus blocking the growth of young plants, which are eaten. This is a problem they face in Stelvio National Park, an area where there is the largest population of deer.
BALANCE Therefore, although we cannot speak of a real emergency, the risk that some areas with high density of deer will suffer a depletion of new trees is real. There is also another potentially destabilizing factor for our forests compared to the massive presence of these ungulates. ‘Forests with large adult trees and no weeds represent a problem for birds that nest on the ground or for small mammals that see their environment changed. It occurs in a cascade, as the presence of deer increases ”, concludes Martinoli.
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