When we moved to the Island, thirty or so years ago, there were a few deer around. They were small, about the size of a medium to large dog. They were skinny and often had unhealthy looking coats. And they were wary.
That’s all changed. There are a lot of deer around. They’re larger; we have a couple of three point bucks visit these days. They’re big and healthy and they are not in any way concerned about humans. Case in point, this image could have been titled, ‘casual wildlife photo from the deck while enjoying morning coffee’.
As wonderful as it is to have healthy wildlife around, I can’t help think there are problems ahead.
Because I have a strange mind, when I read your description about watching this from the deck and the amount of deer on SSI, I had this image flash into my mind of people who couldn’t find rental housing on salt spring, jockeying with all those deer in a competition to find a tree to bed down under at night, like a farside cartoon. Oh just wish I could draw.