Two reports of aggressive deer Sunday in Saanich have prompted police to urge caution during fawning season.
“I thought she would rear up and strike me with the hoofs,” said Romeo Strasbourg, who reported an encounter near McKenzie Avenue and Lochside Trail.
Strasbourg said he was walking his maltipoo on Cumberland Road when he noticed a deer edging toward him. He said the doe tried to charge at him and the dog four or five times, even though Strasbourg was yelling and waving his arms to scare it off.
Strasbourg said he went to a nearby home and tried to take refuge on a porch, but the deer followed. He grabbed rocks in case the deer attacked.
“It was very aggressive, that’s the first time I’ve seen that in a deer,” he said.
After the doe backed off, Strasbourg called Saanich police and animal control to let them know about the encounter.
Strasbourg said he sees many deer in his yard on Ranger Place, adjacent to Lochside Trail, but they are usually calm.
“They eat our flowers but I’ve never had one chase me,” he said.
Saanich police received a second report of an aggressive deer around 1:30 p.m.
A man reported that he was playing with his dog in his Gordon Head yard when a deer went after the dog, chasing it into the garage. The deer returned to the property three times, said Saanich police Sgt. Chris Horsley.
The man got a baseball bat, and swung it at the deer and yelled until it went away.
Horsley said does often become aggressive when their fawns are nearby, and can feel threatened by dogs and people.
“While deer may seem to be placid and non-threatening, we must keep in mind they are still wild animals, and by instinct may forcefully, and aggressively, defend their young against perceived threats,” Horsley said.
