MATTHEWS, N.C. — Not all those who wander are lost.
"They're everywhere all over the neighborhood all over the greenway," Matthews president DJ Pomposini said. "They just run from back yard to back yard."
Some residents say it's pretty normal to see deer roaming in the Town of Matthews.
"We were cutting up some wood and building, we had the saws running in the driveway and [the deer] just walked through the yard," resident John Burdecki said.
Renee Garner is a Matthews commissioner. She said that, for two years, people have been asking for updates on the deer count.
Town leaders gathered Monday night to discuss options to reduce the population of deer in Matthews.
Those plans included shooting deer or giving them contraceptives, with leaders instead finally agreeing to focus on educating the community about the wildlife while also investing $4,000 towards a head count of the deer population.
That count will also include a coyote count.
"There are a lot of coyotes here we need to know how many there are, particularly concern for pet owners," Mayor of Matthews John Higdon said.
Town leaders say the count data will be shared with Mecklenburg County and may be beneficial when making decisions with developers and considerations for rezoning.
"We can each use it individually as we are making decisions," Garner said
Some residents told WCNC Charlotte's Tradesha Woodard that they were concerned about the number of car crashes involving deer.
Data from the town shared tonight shows crashes involving deer make up about 2% of reported crashes over the last seven years.
Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.