The Clear Eye Myth
Last November, my friends and I were on a morning roadkill drive. We were driving down a country road, when we spotted a big doe laying on the berm. When we pulled over to check her out, I was elated. At first glance, she appeared to be fresh. Her eyes were clear, and moist. She didn’t stink, and had blood bubbles around her nose. However, my friend Hannah was skeptical.
Upon further inspection, we realized the doe had been dead longer than we had thought. Her underbelly had a bluish hue, and was slightly bloated. Hannah tugged on the white fur between the deer’s belly and groin. The fur fell out in large clumps, a sure sign of spoilage. The bloody foam leaking from her nose was likely a product of the gases in her stomach, rather than a fresh hit. When we flipped her over, dark blood leaked from her vent. If we attempted to salvage her simply because she had “clear eyes,” we would be stuck with a foul mess.
What exactly do I mean by clear eyes? Eyes that are clear resemble close to how they did when the deer was alive. While the pupils may be slightly dilated or glassy, the eyeballs themselves still retain their shape and are moist. With the eyes being fragile organs, they tend to deteriorate quickly. Within a few days, they turn a milky white and dry out. The eye touching the ground tends to shrivel first. After about a week, they are akin to raisins, dark and wrinkled. By this time, scavengers may have removed them.
Many roadkill salvagers swear by collecting deer with clear eyes. During my early roadkill salvaging days, my friends and I picked up any deer that had clear eyes. We assumed that because the eyes are “fragile organs,” that they’re the first parts of the deer to rot. I even toted the importance of clear eyes in the zine I wrote. However, as we began finding more deer, it was clear that the eyeballs were not the first part of the deer to spoil.
The first part of a deer to expire is the underbelly. This is due to the fact that the organs retain much of the body heat. In cold weather, the outside portions of the deer, including the eyeballs, cool down quickly. Meanwhile, the innards continue to stay warm for extended periods of time. This excess heat combined with bacteria and fluids in the body cavity, creates a perfect environment for decomposition. This is why our doe friend had a spoiled belly while tricking us with her clear eyeballs.
In conclusion, one should not salvage a roadkill deer based on one indicator alone. A deer should have a combination of clear eyes, a tight belly, and fur that isn’t slipping. When we originally salvaged roadkill deer based on the color of the eyeballs, we were lucky we weren’t met with rotten meat. I encourage anyone learning how to salvage roadkill deer to examine the deer thoroughly. Use your nose, eyes, and touch. If you’re unsure if a deer is fresh or not, it is better to leave him for the scavengers.
