Tiny deer back from edge of oblivion

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BIG PINE KEY, Fla. (AP) -- Visitors taking a stroll around this island at dusk are likely to be treated to an enchanting sight: Tiny deer barely taller than a toddler, rummaging through garbage cans, grazing in back yards and walking up to humans without fear.

With the plucky way they amble about on their skinny legs, it's hard to imagine that not long ago the key deer numbered fewer than 50 and were in danger of extinction.

Today, the pint-sized creatures practically overrun Big Pine Key. A half-century of conservation efforts has boosted their ranks to between 500 and 700, a figure that has remained stable for several years.

The deer -- which stand less than 3 feet high at the shoulder -- have become so common that some researchers say they should no longer be considered an endangered species.

"People sort of overlook the fact that the deer as a species really is a success story," said Roel Lopez, a Texas A&M University professor who has led most of the recent deer studies.

The key deer is the smallest subspecies of the Virginia white-tailed deer. Believed to have migrated from the mainland thousands of years ago, they are only found on Big Pine Key and some surrounding keys along the string of islands at the southern tip of Florida.

Mr. Lopez said Big Pine Key -- which measures less than 16 square miles -- supports as many key deer as it can. Scientists are now relocating a few of them to neighboring keys in hopes of expanding their habitat.

Under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rules, there must be two additional stable deer populations before the federal government will consider listing the deer as simply a threatened species, said Bert Byers, a spokesman for the agency.