The ShoreXplorers: Two Symbols of the Keys - Tiny Key Deer and Quirky Key West [April 20-24, 2022]

Key Deer fawn

Two things that come to people’s minds when you mention the Keys are the endangered Key Deer and (of course) Key West. We spent a bit of time with both of them.

Key Deer

Key Deer are the smallest subspecies of white-tailed deer and are found only in the Florida Keys. These little deer are truly tiny: adult males stand 30 inches tall and weigh 55-70 pounds, adult females stand 26 inches tall and weigh 44-60 pounds. That is about the weight of a medium-large dog.

Most Key Deer live within the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine and adjacent No Name Keys, though they can be found along a 17 mile stretch of Route 1 from Big Pine Key to Lower Sugarloaf Key. We read that naturalists were relocating deer from the Refuge to other areas within this stretch to provide better geographical diversity for the herd.

There are only 700-800 of these deer. Like their larger relatives, they are most active at dawn or dusk, and can be seen on the roads and in people’s yards at that time.

They live so close to humans that they have very little fear of being around people or cars. The biggest cause of fatalities are automobiles. We saw two deer fearlessly crossing Route 1 (which is 4 lanes at this point) after dark with cars passing by. The special speed limit to protect the deer in that area is 45 during the day, 35 at night. Not great odds for the careless deer.

We read that there were two places where you could get a good sighting – No Name Key, and along Long Beach Road, both accessed from Big Pine Key, about 8 miles from us. We went out during the day to check out these potential sites. No Name Key has only a few homes, and is mostly the Refuge wilderness area. During daytime, we saw 1 deer cross the road. There was a place where we could park our car and unload our bikes, so it was a good spot for us to return to at dusk.

We saw a fawn on the day when we checked out Long Beach Road. The fawn was so tiny, it looked like each of its hooves could fit on a 25 cent piece. When we stopped the car to look, it’s Mom came out of the underbrush on the side of the road, and the two of them approached the car. We now understood the many, many signs warning people that not only is it illegal to feed the deer, it is harmful to their health. These deer are not scared of people or cars at all! It was a great photo opp though. We returned to Long Beach Road a few days later to check out a possible kayaking location, and the same Mom and fawn were on the side of the road. This must be where they hang out.

One windy evening at dusk we loaded up our bicycles and headed out to No Name Key. We thought that bicycles were quieter and slower and would give us more opportunity to see the deer. Through most of our ride, the deer crossed the road in ones and twos a respectful distance ahead of us. That felt more “right” than the deer we had seen on Long Beach Road.

At one point, we stopped so that I could take a picture of Russ on his bicycle. As he rode off, I heard a noise to my right. There was a deer watching us from the underbrush. It was focused on Russ as he rode away, and crossed the road right in front of me, with its head turned watching him the whole time. I was less than 5 feet from the animal. Sorry the photo isn’t that great, but it does show a very funny moment.

Key West

It was a windy day in Key West

We have spent a lot of time in Key West on previous trips. High 20-30 mph winds and grey drizzly skies were keeping us from our usual pursuits of kayaking, swimming, snorkeling, and lazing around outside. We decided to pay Key West another visit.

What is Key West without chickens?

We walked around admiring the old buildings and amazing old trees, and dodging the crowds of people.

We found the end of Route 1 – Milepost 0.

Isn't this a great house?

We had a delicious lunch at an outdoor Cuban restaurant that reminded us that Cuba was only 90 miles away.

Wet underfoot in line at the Southernmost Point.

We went to the Southernmost Point of the US and saw the line of folks waiting to take a picture there get their feet wet from waves crashing up against the sea wall.

Banyan tree

Kapok tree

Most importantly, we returned to the souvenir shop where Russ got his lime green Key West hat 6 years ago, and replaced the now faded hat with a new lime green Key West hat.