Wildlife Ate $9.9M in Maryland Crops Last Year

The U.S. Agriculture Department says deer and other wildlife ate $9.9 million worth of Maryland crops last year.

The USDA said that 74 percent of the damage was done by deer. Groundhogs were the second most destructive critters, accounting for 10 percent of damage statewide.

Bears were a significant problem in far western Maryland. They accounted for 12 percent of the crop damage in Allegany and Garrett counties.

Geese were a problem elsewhere. The USDA says migrant geese were blamed for 12 percent of the crop damage on the northern Eastern Shore, and resident geese accounted for 11 percent of the damage in North-Central Maryland.