BLACK FOREST, Colo. – A Black Forest woman who told Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers she took a days-old fawn into her home more than a year and raised it has been cited with two misdemeanors after the deer, now a young buck, gored a neighbor last week.
According to CPW, the attack comes after CPW wildlife officers received tips that a neighbor of the victim was feeding the 1 ½-year-old buck – and even raised it after it was orphaned – in violation of state law.
CPW had been investigating the tips, but officers had been unable to verify the claims, or catch the neighbor in the act of feeding the deer, before Friday’s attack.
The victim suffered serious lacerations to the top of her head, her left cheek and her legs. She was taken by ambulance to a Colorado Springs hospital for treatment of her injuries. She is expected to recover.
This required CPW officers to track and euthanize the animal.
Later Friday morning, a CPW wildlife officer was approached outside the victim’s home by a young buck with obvious blood on its antlers. Given the aggressive nature of the buck and the visible blood on its antlers, the officer euthanized the deer.
On Monday, CPW officers cited 73-year-old Tynette Housley with illegal possession of wildlife and illegally feeding wildlife, both unclassified misdemeanors. She was also issued a warning for possessing live wildlife without a license after she described keeping it in her home, then in her garage and ultimately on her property.
The two misdemeanors carry fines and surcharges totaling $1,098.50.
Housley was cited after the deer, a buck with two-pronged antlers, attacked a neighbor as she walked her dog Friday morning. From her hospital bed, the victim described to CPW being surprised to notice the deer following her and then shocked when it attacked, knocking her down and thrashing her with its antlers.
“This is another sad example of what happens when people feed wildlife,” said Frank McGee, area wildlife manager for the Pikes Peak region. “They become habituated to people, lose their fear and become aggressive and dangerous. This buck showed no fear of the woman and her dog. And when our officer responded to the scene, it approached within a few feet. This tells me the deer was very comfortable around people. Dangerously comfortable. It viewed humans as a source of food.”
Human conflict with wildlife is increasing throughout Colorado and especially in Front Range communities where human populations are expanding. McGee fears similar conflicts will continue until people take seriously state laws forbidding the feeding of wildlife.
“This is why it is illegal to feed deer and why we urge people to make them feel uncomfortable in neighborhoods,” McGee said. “The issue is far more serious than ruined landscaping or even the car wrecks they cause on a daily basis on our roads. We had a young boy attacked in Colorado Springs in June. And we had a 72-year-old woman attacked and seriously injured in Black Forest in 2017. All three are lucky the results weren’t much worse.”
According to neighbors, the deer in Friday’s attack was frequently seen in the area approaching people and seeking human attention.
The victim told CPW she thought the deer simply wanted to be “snuggled” when it approached her and her dog Friday morning. When she extended her hand to the deer, it lowered its antlers and jabbed her abdomen.
When she realized she was under attack, the victim told investigators she dropped her dog, grabbed the deer’s antlers and she and the animal fell to the ground. It gored her until she was able to regain her feet.
She ran to a neighbor’s house and punched in the security code to open their garage door, only to be attacked a second time by the deer. She ran between two cars in the garage to get away from the deer and end the attack.
The deer was taken to a lab for a rabies test and necropsy. The incident remains under investigation.
To learn more about living with wildlife, please visit the CPW website.
