Other than birds and perhaps the odd rabbit, I don’t see much wildlife in the city in which I live. That’s natural - or, as we are talking about concrete and glass overwhelming the environment, maybe I should have written ‘unnatural’ . But now and then, I observe unusual visitors to the city.
I was riding my bicycle home from work yesterday at about four o’clock in the afternoon, and saw these two animals downtown. This was right in the centre of a city of 80,000 people. It was behind Southminster United Church, an old and attractive building (and therefore I’m surprised it hasn’t been demolished). My city is not Toronto or Montreal; it’s not even Victoria. But it can be busy and noisy. The street in front of the church constitutes the main street downtown.
But these two deer seemed quite at ease. They were not startled by vehicular traffic or by my presence. They peered at me a few times but were unconcerned, and spent their time eating (and one took a minute to relieve himself.)
I have seen deer in town before. In fact, one night, a few years ago, in the winter, I returned home very late to find three on my neighbour’s front lawn. But that was when I lived in my house, and there is a more or less continual path of parks and green-strips the deer can follow to and from the outskirts of the city. As well, it is a residential neighbourhood and was very quiet at that hour. Even so, one must wonder why the beasts would bother entering an urban area at all.
And as for the downtown area, though it has parks, there is no connecting greenery, no ‘road’ of vegetation for deer to follow. Yet this is not the first time I have observed them even in this area. Once, about eleven o’clock in the morning, I saw some in the alley behind the very building in which I live now, which in turn is not far from the church the animals visited yesterday.
Whatever the reason for their foraging deep into a small city, these deer appeared untroubled by the commotion that was routine about them. They are likely veterans of such expeditions. I hope that they made it back to the country safely and, I suspect, they did. No doubt with tales to tell the youngsters before their bedtime, inspiration for ungulate explorers of the future.
Oh, I, too, hope they made it safely out and back into the woods. It's been years since I've seen live deer in town, except for the conservation area. A few years ago I had seen that coyote on campus -- I know they're around, but I worry for their safety too. Authorities here are more likely to shoot to kill than to bother to tranquilize and remove. It's WE who have encroached on their territory, yet somehow many humans conveniently forget that.
ReplyDeleteCoyotes, at least, are having a laugh at us; they are one species whose habitat has increased. They are frequently seen in some cities now. But other species seem to be getting the short end of humanity's stick.
DeleteWow, you were in the right place at the right time! I never seem to have my camera when I see deer.
ReplyDeleteTake care!
I took the pictures with my telephone. It's acceptable, but, as you can tell, when I zoom in, the resolution is poor. But at least the deer were discernible.
Deleteyep - that would certainly make you stop and look twice :)
ReplyDeleteguys....if they iz in front oh church, they either knead ta go two confession, ore they wanna get mare reed, ore they iz WAAAAAAAY earl lee for SUNday servizz ☺☺☺
ReplyDelete♥♥♥
They seem quite calm in your presence, a strange sight to see on the ride home. Alas we have no wildlife here either except for the native birds which spread themselves round the city in spring in search of food.
ReplyDeleteThere used to be deer on factory land not too far from me. It was a large herd of maybe 60-70. Developers started building another factory there about 6 months ago and the deer stayed as long as possible then moved across a busy road onto airport land. The main airport closed several years ago and is now only used for light aircraft. The deer seem to find it acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they had somewhere to go. It's hard for me to imagine there are many places for sixty deer to roam wild in England.
DeleteI guess that they have conditioned themselves to be around humans! That is something for them to be so unconcerned.
ReplyDeleteI too find it a treat when I get to see deer, often in what seems to be the most unlikely places. When I first moved into my apartment last October, I would occasionally see three deer out back of my building. I haven't seen them in quite a while though, which makes me a little sad. But a partial fence has been built near the back of my building, and that very well could have scared them off. I keep hoping they will come back. I also used to see a flock of wild turkeys, but they haven't been around lately either. Fortunately, multiple bird feeders outside our unit are keeping plenty of birds front and center so the cats and I are enjoying bird and squirrel watching to our hearts content!
ReplyDeleteSurprising to see deer in downtown this early in Spring. Must have walked up Whoop-up from the coulee-bottom this morning.
ReplyDeleteAlthough what constitutes downtown for us Lethbians might be somewhat underwhelming for a New Yorker. But how many pizza places are adjacent to city hall in New York City? Not many I say!
Something special about seeing the deer on your way home. I hope they will be all right in the town. Raccoons are taking over Toronto but I have not seen deer downtown.
ReplyDeleteMany cities are now having issues with deer populations. Previously green areas where the deer have foraged have been developed. Also, the residents of their developed foraging areas have planted new types of foliage which is unappealing to them. They seek out areas with older types of plants which are palatable. Local animals,as opposed to transients , tend to show little fear of humans. They might be being fed by well meaning local people.
ReplyDeleteI live near a park, and occasionally we'll see deer in the late afternoon or early morning. I always find it a treat to watch them. They're so beautiful. However, lately we've been visited by hawks, and watching them is just amazing.
ReplyDeleteWe occasionally get deer in the city here too, but I usually only hear of them when they crash through a basement window. It happened to a co-worker and the deer died on his daughter's bed. ewww.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I hope these two found their way back to the country and away from the traffic. It is nice to see them though.