I took three pictures of a deer in front of our home on Island Road on Sept. 11.
I also scanned a year 2000 B.C. report, Mule Deer & Black Tail Deer In B.C., where the description of mule deer seems to fit this one. How would you like to meet this brute while walking on Anderson Hill or along the narrow path on the old Earn Street?
He really is big and well-muscled – would never want to startle him or be involved in a collision with anything so big and solid. This may be the biggest one I have seen here, but I think there are at least two of similar size in this area.
If he is not a cause for concern to Oak Bay residents, what is?
Despite using Bobex, noise gizmos, meat meal and a solution called a “wireless deer fence,” not to mention new fencing, we continue to have this buck and others ravage our property and will likely soon hit an expense figure in the order of $10,000.
We saw no deer in our area prior to three years ago and have been developing a large garden since 1986. Now, we start every day looking to see what has been chewed or broken, including sizeable branches from Japanese maples (one of which will have to be destroyed soon because of a branch being ripped off as the deer pushed past it) and a fairly mature redbud tree that was pushed over and snapped about a foot above ground level.
We are not moving into deer habitat or living anywhere near an urban fringe area. Unlike places such as Cranbrook, the deer are moving into our spaces – and the area may be little short of imploding.
Perhaps it is time to challenge why we bother to pay taxes or consider suing one or more levels of government for damages and expenses incurred?
Dennis McCarthy
Oak Bay