Beware of aggressive deer

It's an increasingly common story in Sisters - and across North America: Urban deer populations that have become accustomed to human presence can sometimes turn aggressive.

Last week, a local resident contacted The Nugget to report that a small dog was attacked by a big doe near the Tamarack Apartments at the north end of town.

There are a great many deer in town, and they think nothing of hanging out in the yards of homes and businesses.

Also last week, a woman posted on Facebook that: "Our yard was hosting an apple bobbing party to some 6 or 7 deer. Our next-door neighbor (part-timers from the Valley) brought a big bucket of apples for them. We kindly asked that they not do that."

The same poster noted that her husband had been chased by a deer in their driveway.

There have been a number of nasty conflicts between deer and dogs - sometimes ending badly for the dog and sometimes with dogs chasing and inflicting horrific injuries on deer.

City ordinances forbid feeding of deer, and many local subdivisions have rules against the practice - rules that residents and visitors often ignore.

Feeding deer is not good for deer-human interactions and it's not good for their health.

Naturalist Jim Anderson appealed to Sisters just last year: "Please, please stop feeding those mule deer that are constant moochers in our backyards. Shout at them, throw rags at them, squirt them with the garden hose - do everything (legally) possible to convince them that living in town is NOT good for their health.

"If the deer in town don't get hit by a semi going down the main drag they bunch up and spread AHD (Adenovirus Hemorrhagic Disease), and that is really a killer."

Concentrating deer populations in the urban-wildland interface can also draw cougars into populated areas in pursuit of their natural prey.

Deer seem more likely to behave aggressively in the presence of a dog, which they perceive as a predator and a threat. Keep dogs on a leash while walking - and don't approach deer, even in repose.