A normal deer herd is between 25 and 30 per square mile.

The deer population at Riverside Drive is estimated to be between 80 and 120 deer per square mile, nearly four times the usual amount, said Ken Riddleberger, game management region supervisor for the Northeast District of Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

"It's a pretty serious problem in a lot of urban places where there are high populations and not a lot of hunting pressure to curtail the population," Riddleberger said. "There's no doubt there's an overabundance of deer there just based on what residents are saying."

Deer are culprits of car collisions and landscape devastation, especially in areas where their herds are large and habitats are limited like Riverside Drive.

Amanda Griffin, vice president of advancement at Riverside Military Academy, said the deer are not problems to cadets, but there is a large herd on campus.

"We had two deer just in the last week hit in a road around Riverside," she said. "It's just not good for the deer because it's hard for this land to support a herd of that size. We're just doing them a disservice by letting the herd get that large."

Members of the Riverside Drive community met previously to discuss the rising deer population, and hunting was deemed the most economic way to help solve the problem. A parent of a Riverside Military cadet is an avid bow hunter, and it was his idea to create a sanctioned hunt, Griffin said.

"We tried to do it last year but the time just didn't work out," Griffin said. "We sold a lot of tickets. We never saw this as a fundraiser. It was about giving hunters a chance to purchase a ticket to hunt on land that's never been hunted officially before."

Five area bow hunters were selected from a raffle in October to participate in the deer hunt today through Saturday, and five more were chosen to hunt Dec. 22 through 24. The hunts will take place on the academy's 202-acre campus.

Riddleberger said the deer are in the area not because they choose to flock there, but because Gainesville built up around their habitat.

And there's not much homeowners can do about it.

"There are some plants that are more palatable to deer than others, but when you get to a point where there's limited food sources, there's not any plant a deer won't eat," Riddleberger said, adding hostas and rhododendrons are favorites. "A lot of native plants withstand the browsing a lot better."

High deer populations have also been problems in areas such as Skidaway Island State Park and Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, Riddleberger said. Some of the biggest deer in Georgia have been found in Fulton County, not rural areas.

Urban deer sprawl has become such an issue that bow hunting groups are hired by cities to hunt, he said.

Griffin said the Riverside hunts have met little resistance. Most residents support the idea.

Riddleberger said the Gainesville hunts will follow all deer hunting rules and regulations. The chosen hunters must have hunting licenses and must register the deer they kill.

"The deer will be their deer. They can process it, use it as food for their family, whatever," Riddleberger said. "It's just like any other hunt on private property. This one just happens to be within the city limits of Gainesville."