‘I’m nervous’: Deer attack prompts call for more signage in Kelowna

Bonnie Willmott is used to seeing deer roaming her Abbott Street neighborhood, but what the Kelowna woman has seen lately has her nervous.

“I’m nervous,” Bonnie Wilmott said. “For about a month they have been aggressive. I had two bucks with their antlers fighting on my lawn.

On Tuesday morning, a woman running in the neighborhood was attacked by a deer and suffered lacerations and bruising to her legs and arm.

“He picked me up and threw me. Like I was actually unstuck,” said Kristen England, who was attacked while running around 7 a.m.

England ended up in the hospital and had to get a tetanus shot.

The bucks are particularly aggressive at the moment, in the height of the rutting season, and the one suspected of being responsible for the latest attack is very present in the area, protecting two does.

Global News saw him attempt to charge an elderly couple walking on the multi-use path along Abbott Street on Thursday, and he forced our Global News team to run for cover in a vehicle.

The Conservation Officer Service was notified following the runner’s attack and has since posted a sign in the area, but not along the multi-use path popular with walkers, runners and cyclists.

Many people say more temporary signage is needed, especially along the popular walking trail, before someone else gets hurt.

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“You see a lot of different people walking around here and there are often kids there too, so I think during the time when the deer are there there are definitely signage,” said Nikki Hall who walks regularly in the region.

“I think it would be really helpful … to keep people safe,” said Jackie Marsh, another marcher.

Although the Conservation Officer Service said it would consider adding more signs, he added that when an area is saturated with too many signs, people tend to ignore them.

“I think they should have a lot of signs and big print so they’re visible,” Willmott said.

Residents are advised to give deer plenty of space, always keep their pets on a leash, and never feed the deer.

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