The buck stops here

HERITAGE HARBOUR — Bambi loves snacking on popcorn and posing for selfies with Heritage Harbour South residents.

But the residents’ relationship with the 1-year-old white-tailed deer they’ve nicknamed after the storied deer could come at a cost — both for the yearling and for residents who feed and pet him.

By next year, the buck will reach maturity and will want to mate, according to Justin Matthews, of Matthews Wildlife Rescue, who hopes to end the friendly encounters between residents and the buck before he reaches maturity.

Bucks can become aggressive when they’re ready to mate, especially when they feel threatened.

Matthews saw a resident “play fighting” with the deer last week and watched while the buck stood on its back legs.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will start issuing fines to Heritage Harbour South residents who interact with the buck, Matthews said.

FWC officials will drive around the community weekly until the buck is gone, to ensure residents aren’t interacting with it.

It’s illegal to pet, feed and play with the deer, according to Florida statutes and the FWC website. 

Because the deer isn’t scared of people, it could become a danger to residents, especially as a full-grown buck.

“A buck, when he becomes aggressive, can hurt you by standing on his hind legs and hitting you with his hooves,” Matthews explained. “When the bucks are ready to mate, they can get really nasty, and I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

Near and Dear

Resident Sue Morrison remembers when the deer first appeared in Heritage Harbour three months ago.

She spotted the buck while she walked her Yorkshire terrier, Diesel, one evening near the Stoneybrook Golf Course.

She chased him back into the woods. But, the young deer thought she was playing. The buck came out of the woods and ran up to Morrison again. 

The game continued for a few minutes until Morrison picked up Diesel and ran home. 

Residents believe a car hit the deer’s mother in East County last year.

Matthews suspects the deer came from a nearby wooded area, possibly along state roads 64 or 70, he said.  

Last week, Morrison called Matthews because she was afraid the animal would run onto State Road 64 and get hit by a car.

Now, the deer can be found strolling the green near the Stoneybrook course, greeting golfers and roaming through the River Strand community.

“Other residents keep saying how much they love their Bambi and how cute he is,” Morrison said. “Poor little thing, he thinks everyone is his best friend.”

Born to be wild

Matthews has been visiting Heritage Harbour every evening for the last two weeks to ensure residents aren’t petting or feeding the buck. But he isn’t relocating the buck because he believes if it doesn’t learn to stay away from people now, it will interact with them again, but in a different community. 

He hopes the deer returns to the woods on its own terms, and soon. 

If it doesn’t, Matthews fears the FWC will remove the deer from the property. If the organization removes the deer, it could be euthanized, Matthews said. 

Because the deer wasn’t bottle-fed and raised by humans — a “hard imprint” — the deer could return to the woods.

“Right now, he’s a soft imprint,” Matthews said. “He’s friendly toward humans, but he can be away from them if they stop giving him attention. We need him to go back to the woods for his and the residents’ safety.”

Morrison hopes the community and Bambi break up soon.

“He’s beautiful, but he’d be happier and safer in the woods, out in the wild,” she said.

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].