Deer Me!

I was recently pondering the demise of Detroit's industry and the renewal of wildlife within the city. I thought that since we have pheasants, peregrine falcons, raccoons, opossum,foxes, coyotes and now beaver, the only animals missing were whitetail deer and black bear. Oh yes, and wolves.

Last night I was walking the quieter back paths of Belle Isle, in the big meadow area where I like to go with my dog when he suddenly lunged into the thicket. Up from the tall grasses and dense shrubbery leapt a large, perfectly healthy and sleek whitetail deer - a doe. She bounded away directly in front of us and across our path to enter the wooded area near the Blue Heron Lagoon. The dog followed her trajectory in a perfect radius from the taut end of the leash like a pencil tip on a compass. It was all I could do to hold him and to keep my balance.

So astonished was I that I completely forgot the I had my camera with me, as always, but she was much too fast to capture in any case.

I wrote an email to the manager of the Belle Isle Nature Center to inquire about the deer and if they were aware of her presence on the island. This was his answer:

"Thank you, Erica, for bringing this to us. Yes, Whitetail deer sometimes swim down from the neighboring land mass or are let loose on the island. We have had reports and sightings of her throughout the winter. We will continue to monitor."

So there you have it. Wild Canadian deer in downtown Detroit. What's next? Excuse me while I whistle an old song from my childhood...

If you go down in the woods today
You’re sure of a big surprise.
If you go down in the woods today
You’d better go in disguise.

For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain, because
Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic...