Yesterday, I saw the mother deer on her own in Raymore Park. She moved across the width of the park and moved slowly into the wild area right in front of my wife and I as we stood watching breathlessly.

White-tailed deer leave their young for hours on end while foraging and return to them to provide milk. Today the mother was on the Weston side of the river and waited until I moved upstream. The fawn will be safer on the far side as access is limited so hopefully, that’s where it is.

…standing motionless, waiting in the shadows.

She crossed the river slowly and disappeared into the vegetation which, thanks to the rain is very tall this year.

As I was leaving the wild area, I encountered a lady with four very active, off-leash border collies. On mentioning my deer sighting, she seemed to believe her dogs wouldn’t bother the deer and its fawn. In fact, she went told me that ungulates (yes, she used the word ungulates) are a leading cause of death to other animals and humans thanks to their hooves! She mentioned that one of her dogs had had an encounter with a deer recently and that the deer chased her dog and threatened it (with its hooves).

It’s not hard to imagine what would happen if any dog happened across the fawn while it was on its own and defenceless. In fact, any kind of encounter between wild and domestic animals should be avoided. To me, it seems irresponsible to invite such an encounter on a daily basis.