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
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army ordered some 100,000 Palestinians on Monday to begin evacuating from the southern city of Rafah, signaling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent and further complicating efforts to broker a cease-fire in Gaza.