Neighbours worried about deer living near busy Waterloo road
A group of Waterloo residents are concerned for the safety of a wild deer living in their neighbourhood.
People in the Bridge Street area say the animal keeps popping up along their busy road – and they’re asking for help to return it to its proper home.
Rebecca Scholl said she saw the deer roaming through her neighbourhood on Lexington Road Friday night. The next day it came back – this time standing only a few yards from her front door.
“It’s just odd to see it in our neighbourhood,” Scholl said Monday. “We’ve been here over 12 years. It’s not a regular occurrence.”
Several people have reached out to CTV News, saying they’ve seen the same deer multiple times and are worried about its safety.
“It’s a high traffic area, especially when it was here late at night,” Scholl said. “My main concern is that it’s going to get hit.”
“How are we going to get this deer back to where it came from?”
A photo shows the animal munching on someone's yard. (Submitted)
The Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo and Stratford Perth received numerous calls about the overly-social ungulate over the weekend.
The organization said they sent an animal services officer to check on the deer and it appears to be in good health.
‘It’s not skittish at all’
So where did the deer come from? And why is it so comfortable around people?
“You can get really close to it – about four, five feet away – and it’s not skittish at all,” Scholl said.
According to wildlife experts, that’s not normal.
“No wild deer will allow people to approach,” said Chantal Theijn, a wildlife custodian at Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge. “So either somebody has been feeding or somebody, in fact, has been hand-raising it.”
In most cases, Ontario’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act prohibits keeping wild animals in captivity.
Theijn said that would explain the deer’s behaviour, although it would be hard to verify.
“Being that the deer is now free to go where it wants to go, we’d have to prove that someone kept it in captivity,” Theijn said.
Deer live where they want, say experts
When it comes to relocating the animal, experts say that’s up to the deer – and no one else.
“It’s a wild animal and they are free to be where they area,” Theijn said.
The humane society says people should give the deer time and keep their distance.
“Stay away from them, give them time to return to their own natural habitat,” Victoria Baby, CEO of the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo and Stratford Perth. “Don’t try and feed them or get close to them. Eventually they will return to where they came from.”
If you find a wild animal that is sick or injured, the province recommends calling a wildlife custodian.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
Student anti-war protesters dig in as faculties condemn university leadership over calling police
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war at at universities across U.S., some of whom have clashed with police in riot gear, dug in Saturday and vowed to keep their demonstrations going, while several school faculties condemned university presidents who have called in law enforcement to remove protesters.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
'The world is too messy for bureaucratic hurdles': Canada still bars Afghanistan aid
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Hamas is reviewing an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as possible Rafah offensive looms
Hamas said Saturday it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Egypt intensified efforts to broker a deal to end the months-long war and stave off a possible Israeli ground offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Russia renews attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector as Kyiv launches drones at southern Russia
Russia launched a barrage of missiles against Ukraine overnight, in attacks that appeared to target the country's energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Russia said its air defense systems had intercepted more than 60 Ukrainian drones over the southern Krasnodar region.