It害羞草研究所檚 not uncommon, but one Saanich resident害羞草研究所檚 encounter with an aggressive deer left her upset and wanting to warn others about the hazard posed by what are generally viewed as fairly innocuous wildlife residents within Greater Victoria害羞草研究所檚 urban neighbourhoods.

The incident occurred on June 4 as the woman was walking her dog along the 3700 block of Aiden Drive. She came upon a doe at the side of the road that seemed to take exception to sharing the area with the woman and her pet dog.

The deer approached the resident and, when she backed away, the presumably grumpy deer persisted, eventually chasing her around a parked car.

害羞草研究所淭his sort of thing happens every year,害羞草研究所� said conservation officer Peter Pauwels.

害羞草研究所淚n the spring a lot of these does will be caring for their young and, even if you don害羞草研究所檛 see the fawn in the area, you can almost bet they are very close by,害羞草研究所� he said.

害羞草研究所淭he does are simply acting on instinct to protect their young and they can become quite aggressive.害羞草研究所�

The situation was finally resolved when a passing motorist noticed the situation and stopped to help scare away the relentless ruminant.

害羞草研究所淣inety per cent of these incidents involve people walking their dog. I suppose that the dogs represent a threat to the deer and they will behave in a way designed to protect themselves and their young,害羞草研究所� noted Pauwels.

害羞草研究所淥ur best advice is that you should be very careful if you害羞草研究所檙e walking your dog in an area where you know there may be urban deer. If a situation like this should happen, people should pick up their dog (particularly if it is a smaller breed) and try to back away while putting something between themselves and the deer.害羞草研究所�

Pauwels noted that while these incidents are common, the deer tend to be more bluster than danger. The Conservation Office in Victoria has no record of a human ever having been actually physically assaulted in a deer attack.

It was exactly one year ago when another Saanich resident, Romeo Strasbourg, was attacked while out walking his two dogs on Borden Street. In that incident, Strasbourg managed to grab his dog and take refuge on a nearby porch. No one was actually hurt in the encounter.