#aFactADay2024
#1329: about a hundred years ago, deer populations were reaching an all-time low, but since then they've been reintroduced and numbers have boomed around the world - in 1970, the UK had 450,000 deer, and now it's over two million. this is possibly because they would've historically had a lot of megafauna competitors that are now extinct or endangered, like european bison, and forest oxen and horses. it's causing quite a problem across the board, with plants getting overeaten, less biodiversity all the way up the food chain, crops getting trampled and trains getting delayed. Network Rail reported 350 trespassing incidents of deer last year and are deploying AI detection systems to deter them from the mainlines. well, at least the deer are smashing up cars too.
Network Rail did a fantastic funny report of trespassers on the railway. one such trespasser was a rather large tortoise called Solomon, who was particularly speedy apparently. animals trespass four times a day on average - but humans over fifty. don't trespass on the railway, folks!
