Bruce meets the boys

Yesterday we introduced Bruce Burt (who turned 90 on October 17) to our bucks. George and EG turned on the charm and Bruce experienced their gentleness and enthusiasm for corn.

To date, Bruce holds the record for the eldest deerkeeper. Our photos show EG on the left and George on the right.

Mighty Mike

This photo shows Mike in his full glory in October 2006. You might want to compare it with the photo we took of him in August when his velvet had just come off. Check out "Mike's losing it" in the blog's August archive.

The rut is almost over as the colder weather has arrived. Winter coats are starting to spread from the neck to the shoulders to trunk. Appetites have returned and the deer are, once again, social with human feeders. Soon it will be time to start feeding hay. We have lots of water and Don is building a bigger shelter close to the grey barn so the herd can find protection from wind and/or rain.

Deerkeeper Allan recently checked the fence line for holes and was assisted by George who followed him from post to post.

The Deer King

Long ago in a forgotten forest, lived a deer named Banyan. He was golden like the sun and his horns glistened like silver. His body was as large as a colt and his eyes sparkled like jewels-alight with wisdom. He was a King of Deer and watched over a herd of 500 deer.

Not far away, another herd of deer was watched over by another golden deer named Branch. In the tall grass and shadows of the deep forest, the two herds lived in peace.


One day, the King of Benares was out on a hunt and spied the beautiful green forest where the deer lived. "What a perfect hunting ground!" he declared and into the forests he dashed with his thousands of hunters and came upon the two herds of deer. Without a moment's hesitation, he notched an arrow in his bow. Suddenly he spotted the two golden deer. Never had he seen such beautiful creatures! "From this day on," he commanded, "No one is to harm or kill these golden deer."

Thereafter, he came to the forest everyday and killed more deer than was needed for his dinner table. As the weeks went by, many deer were wounded and died in great pain.

Finally Banyan Deer called the two herds together, "Friends, we know there is no escape from death, but this needless killing can be prevented. Let the deer take turns going to the chopping block, one day from my herd and the next day from Branch's herd."

All the deer agreed. Each day the deer whose turn it was went to the chopping block on the edge of the forest and laid its head upon the block.

One day, the turn fell to a pregnant doe from Branch's herd. She went to Branch Deer and begged, "Grant that I be passed over until after my fawn is born. Then I will gladly take my turn." Branch Deer replied, "It is your turn. You must go."

In despair, the poor doe went to Banyan Deer and explained her plight. He gently said, "Go rest in peace. I will put your turn upon another." The deer king went and laid his golden head upon the chopping block. A deep silence fell in the forest.

When the king of Benares came and saw the golden deer ready for sacrifice, his heart skipped a beat, "You are the leader of the herd," he exclaimed, "You should be the last to die!" Banyan Deer explained how he had come to save the life of the doe.
A tear rolled down the cheek of the king. "Golden Deer King," he exclaimed. "Among men and beasts, I have not seen one with such compassion. Arise! I spare both your life and hers. "

"So we will be safe. But what shall the rest of the deer do?" "Their lives I shall also spare." "So the deer will be safe, but what will the other four-footed animals do?" "From now on they too will be safe." "And what of the birds?" "I will spare their lives." "And the fish in the water" "The fish shall be spared- all creatures of the land, sea, and sky will be free."

Having saved the lives of all creatures, the golden deer raised his head from the chopping block and returned to the forest.

A Buddhist tale found on the web at

http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/footsteps.htm

Max is ready to rut

Max is our leader without doubt. Here's a picture of him taken yesterday in full rut mode...darkened face, snout and neck, thick and full neck, large Adam's apple, coarser hair on the neck and shoulder flanks. He reeks of urine, too. Every other deer in our herd moves out of his way even if he only twitches.

But so far, the bucks are behaving well. There are occasional experimental attempts to lock antlers, but generally they are in an almost trance-like state. They often stretch their heads back and open their mouths as if suffering from swollen glands or sore throats. They make low, moaning sounds, nothing loud yet.

Appetites have shrunk radically. Even George, who has never failed to eat corn to the very last kernel, took his time to come in for food yesterday and then walked away from it to lie down and rest. Only the two little ones (Moki and Spike) will eat apples and corn continously. No one is interested in carrots anymore.

Anniversary Wish

October 1, 2006 marks the first anniversary of the Odessa Fallow Deer Reserve. Happy Anniversary.

Last October 1st, Don Murphy was driving home from work and saw hunters shooting bucks in the farmer's field where normally he would have seen the deer grazing in peace. Over 100 other deer were racing back and forth in terror as the bullets flew. He saw bodies lying in the field and men loading fallen deer into a frontend loader.

Horrified, he went home and talked to Wendy, his wife. Together they decided to approach the farmer. They purchased the deer and made an agreement that included use of the farmer's land for two years (until October 2007). In this way perhaps a better way of dealing with too many deer in too small a space could be found and over 100 lives were saved. Long story short, in April 2006, the entire herd was tested for disease, treated for worms and 89 does and fawns were able to be transferred by transport truck to Parc Omega in Montebello, Quebec.

Left on the reserve are 13 bucks who were not wanted by Parc Omega. We are searching for at least 10 or 15 acres of land with trees and water to lease for approximately 10 years so that these 13 bucks can live out their lives as safely and peacefully as possible. They can't be released into the wild because they are not native to Canada and must be fed hay throughout the winter.

Our dedicated group of volunteers could help provide and build the 7 to 8 foot fencing required as our bucks will jump when frightened. We receive many donations of hay, apples and carrots as well as veterinary advice and that could transfer to a new location. If you have land that is currently unused and would like to become involved in our reserve, please call one of the numbers above.

This October 1 is a good time to thank all those who have helped in the past year in so many ways.

The above photo was taken in late August 2006 by Jane McDonald ... "The bums' rush".