- Location
- North of Toronto and South Carolina
Residents, university battle over deer
Illegal hunting latest concern raised over urban herd
Jan 20, 2007
David Fleischer, Staff Writer
(Richmond Hill) - They're cute and quiet, but not everyone is happy about deer living in their back yard.
A herd of the creatures makes its home on 200 acres owned by the University of Toronto's David Dunlap Observatory in the centre of Richmond Hill.
But Prof. Slavek Rucinski, a longtime astronomer who lives on the site, said residents are split between those who love the deer and those who wish they would go away.
"My wife likes to watch them, but hates when they eat our vegetable garden," he said.
Other residents, such as John DeToro, aren't amused by their landscape-munching habits.
"I've had nothing but problems with those bloody deer," he said.
Mr. DeToro lives just east of the property with three vacant lots between. In his five years there, he has seen deer munch away at $2,200 worth of evergreens he planted by his house.
Things bottomed out when, more than a year ago, he found a young deer dead on his front porch. Natural Resources Ministry staff determined the deer had likely been killed by a coyote, but the incident emboldened Mr. DeToro to demand U of T erect a fence to keep the deer in.
He had to go as far as taking the university to court and lost in October. In the interim, however, a chain-link fence was constructed which Mr. DeToro says the deer can easily jump.
"They're a pain in the ass," he says. "But (U of T) says 'they're not our deer'."
Most alarming is the possibility some people may be using the observatory land as a game reserve. While there is no specific proof, Mr. Rucinski cited several factors suggesting someone was hunting deer before Christmas.
Local residents frequently walk their dogs on the property and one walker told Mr. Rucinski she encountered a man wearing an orange vest and claiming to be from the university police. The man warned her to look out for hunters with silent crossbows on the property.
Mr. Rucinski didn't think much of the incident until he noticed, later that afternoon, the heavy-duty gate to the observatory's road had been vandalized.
"The gate had to have been vandalized by several people. Or maybe with a truck pulling," Mr. Rucinski said.
The professor's house on the land is off the beaten path and it was through others he heard subsequent reports of a trailer being parked outside on the weekend and of a bonfire being visible on the lands. On other nights, flashlights have been spotted on the private property.
"It would very easy to avoid my house and go into the property without being noticed," he said.
Ward councillor Godwin Chan has expressed concerns about the present and future uses of the land but was not aware of a possible hunting incident.
"I had not heard anything about that. It certainly ought to be looked at," he said.
Anyone who sees anything should notify authorities, including the university's police who are responsible for the property, Mr. Chan said.
While he is not without concern for the deer, Mr. Rucinksi's main concern has been for dog walkers and other visitors getting caught in the crossfire if hunters are on the property.
"This property is prone to strange things," he said.
The observatory land is home to a shifting population of as many as 25 white-tailed deer at any one time. Adjacent CN Rail lines allow them to migrate off the property, which is north of 16th Avenue between Yonge Street and Bayview Avenue.
Illegal hunting latest concern raised over urban herd
Jan 20, 2007
David Fleischer, Staff Writer
(Richmond Hill) - They're cute and quiet, but not everyone is happy about deer living in their back yard.
A herd of the creatures makes its home on 200 acres owned by the University of Toronto's David Dunlap Observatory in the centre of Richmond Hill.
But Prof. Slavek Rucinski, a longtime astronomer who lives on the site, said residents are split between those who love the deer and those who wish they would go away.
"My wife likes to watch them, but hates when they eat our vegetable garden," he said.
Other residents, such as John DeToro, aren't amused by their landscape-munching habits.
"I've had nothing but problems with those bloody deer," he said.
Mr. DeToro lives just east of the property with three vacant lots between. In his five years there, he has seen deer munch away at $2,200 worth of evergreens he planted by his house.
Things bottomed out when, more than a year ago, he found a young deer dead on his front porch. Natural Resources Ministry staff determined the deer had likely been killed by a coyote, but the incident emboldened Mr. DeToro to demand U of T erect a fence to keep the deer in.
He had to go as far as taking the university to court and lost in October. In the interim, however, a chain-link fence was constructed which Mr. DeToro says the deer can easily jump.
"They're a pain in the ass," he says. "But (U of T) says 'they're not our deer'."
Most alarming is the possibility some people may be using the observatory land as a game reserve. While there is no specific proof, Mr. Rucinski cited several factors suggesting someone was hunting deer before Christmas.
Local residents frequently walk their dogs on the property and one walker told Mr. Rucinski she encountered a man wearing an orange vest and claiming to be from the university police. The man warned her to look out for hunters with silent crossbows on the property.
Mr. Rucinski didn't think much of the incident until he noticed, later that afternoon, the heavy-duty gate to the observatory's road had been vandalized.
"The gate had to have been vandalized by several people. Or maybe with a truck pulling," Mr. Rucinski said.
The professor's house on the land is off the beaten path and it was through others he heard subsequent reports of a trailer being parked outside on the weekend and of a bonfire being visible on the lands. On other nights, flashlights have been spotted on the private property.
"It would very easy to avoid my house and go into the property without being noticed," he said.
Ward councillor Godwin Chan has expressed concerns about the present and future uses of the land but was not aware of a possible hunting incident.
"I had not heard anything about that. It certainly ought to be looked at," he said.
Anyone who sees anything should notify authorities, including the university's police who are responsible for the property, Mr. Chan said.
While he is not without concern for the deer, Mr. Rucinksi's main concern has been for dog walkers and other visitors getting caught in the crossfire if hunters are on the property.
"This property is prone to strange things," he said.
The observatory land is home to a shifting population of as many as 25 white-tailed deer at any one time. Adjacent CN Rail lines allow them to migrate off the property, which is north of 16th Avenue between Yonge Street and Bayview Avenue.
