So, Kimberley has deer, lots of deer. It was novel when we first moved here, they were cute, the babies are even cuter. Then we watched them eat all our stuff. We watched them chase people and not care when you are walking just a few feet from them. They own the streets, your gardens and even big bucks will trap you in your house because they are laying on the walkway and they won't move. They have even become immune to objects being thrown at them (at least footballs and apples in our experience).
Kimberley and Cranbrook both did a deer count. We did a survey and close to 80% of people here are very concerned about the deer, so, the city counted the deer just a few weeks ago to see what type of numbers they would get, if the number of deer are in fact a problem. Cranbrook did theirs, they got 91 (I think) deer. We did ours and the paper said that just Marysville (which is the community wherethe girl's go to school) had more deer than all of Cranbrook. They report that there are 19.6 deer per square km here in Kimberley (which includes Marysville). That means that in our area of Kimberley there is an average of 19 deer in Upper Chapman Camp, which seems about right. There is a mom with triplets, a mom with twins, a pregnant mom (I think), there is a huge old buck, a younger 4 point buck, and 2 young boys with little racks. These are just the ones I know of that we see during the week around our house.
So, what are they going to do is the big question. I am becoming more convinced that reducing the deer population is a good thing. The deer are bringing in cougars which have been seen outside the school fence on occasion. The deer are too accustomed to humans, I can just about touch them as we go for walks and hey, my dad even fed a deer out of his hand. Not to mention ALL the deer poop, everywhere!! I will be interested to find out what they decide to do now that they know there are A LOT of deer here.
The deer have created some interesting and unique memories for our family. It is hard to believe we live in a town where you are so immersed in wildlife, deer, cougars, bears and even Moose which have been seen walking the streets just down the hill from us.
