A total of 25 deer have jumped from the U.S. 219 bypass in Johnsonburg, Elk County, WJAC reported, and rotting carcasses continue to line the ground below.

Many residents are now urging the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to do something about it. One such resident is Bill Boylan. “They get frightened out on the bypass and panic. One jumps off, and they all leap off,” Boylan told WJAC in a broadcast.

The deer are falling to their deaths over one area in particular. It is the only point the bypass crosses over a populated area, and there is a steep incline below, meaning it proves more dangerous to the deer.

Pennsylvania has a population of about 1.5 million white-tailed deer. Deer live in meadows and forests, and can sometimes venture out onto nearby roads while in search of food. Cars can confuse deer, especially at night when there are bright headlights. They are also spooked easily, which may play a role in why so many are leaping from the bypass.

Boylan told WJAC a barrier on the bypass could easily divert the deer from jumping to their deaths.

However he told the broadcasting service that the Department of Transportation “doesn’t see the wisdom” in installing a fence or some nets for the deer.

Another resident, Julie Padasak, is troubled by the sight of the carcasses. “They’re literally jumping to death, and looking at them, it’s disturbing,” she told WJAC.

Padasak said she was concerned that all of the dead deer appear to be does, meaning it could affect the deer population, and, as a result, the hunting season. “[That] potentially could have been how many more deer populating … they are the mothers to carry the baby deer,” she said.

As the weather begins to warm in the spring, she is also concerned that the bodies lining the ground will start to smell.

District executive of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Tom Zurat, told WJAC they need to determine “where the deer are coming from” before they are able to do anything about the issue.

“How they are ending up on that bridge is really the problem we’ve got to solve first before we can determine if there’s anything we can do or not,” he told the television station.

Zurat said that over the next couple of weeks, the department will “try to get an answer together” and “at least an idea” of what is causing the problem.