As human communities continue to expand into once-wild natural habitats, encounters with wildlife are becoming increasingly common.
In the r/whatisit subreddit, one Reddit user shared a heart-stopping clip of an unidentified animal running out into the road in front of their moving car and just barely escaping what would no doubt have been a critical or fatal collision.
(Click here to view the video if the embed does not appear.)
The top comment took a snapshot of the video at just the right moment and proceeded to identify the animal as a "young whitetail deer," prompting agreement from much of the thread.
Natural wildlife habitats around the world are shrinking dramatically as a result of human-driven changes to the climate, which hikes up global temperatures through heat-trapping carbon pollution and, on the whole, contributes to habitat and biodiversity loss. When their habitats are either overtaken by urbanization or simply become unlivable and barren of resources, animals like this whitetail deer are more likely to crop up around human communities, making human-wildlife encounters more frequent than ever in this day and age.
These confrontations aren't just dangerous for the animals who run the risk of being hit by moving vehicles; in many cases, animals like bears and elk are quick to attack those they perceive as trespassers. Sometimes, it's a lose-lose situation for both parties, since animals who attack humans — even when provoked — are euthanized by local officials.
As biodiversity continues to fall under threat, it's essential for authorities, researchers, and even everyday individuals to collaboratively keep track of the fauna we encounter. Monitoring populations, whether with trail cameras or by simply documenting what we see, can help keep conservationists informed on the progress of their efforts and target their campaigns in the necessary directions.
Folks in the comment section of the Reddit thread were quick to throw out answers regarding this mysterious deer species and marvel at its lightning speed.
"That was so fast, how possible is it to guess what animal it was?" one user wrote.
"And a fast little fellow," remarked another. "Was hard to scratch this screenshot!"
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