It started out as an ordinary day for Kenora, Ont., resident Liana Berezowski, who was out for her daily run when she noticed a deer and a fawn.
“I just gave [the deer] a little wave because they’re actually local to our neighbourhood,” Berezowski told CBC News. “I kept running and then, probably about 100 metres on, I just got the feeling and looked over my shoulder.
“I saw the fawn and the doe both following me and running after me.”
While Kenora residents are used to seeing deer, as the city has a high population of the animals, it’s rare for them to run after humans.
“It’s not unheard of, but it’s certainly not usual,” said Brian McLaren, associate professor in natural resources management at Lakehead University.
“Deer with young fawns will be protective and, for that reason, secretive and timid.”
Berezowski was able to capture this extraordinary moment on video, as the deer appeared to be running with her.
“There was that initial, ‘Oh, am I in any trouble here?’ And then quickly was like, ‘Oh, no, they’re just kind of having fun.’”
But are deer potentially dangerous in their interactions with humans?
McLaren doesn’t think so.
“Sometimes the prime-age males carry these large antlers and they’ll look a little threatening,” he said. “But I have never heard of anybody being treed by a white-tailed deer.”
For Berezowski, the experience was more fun than scary. She said she “felt like Snow White.”
“When I realized that the fawn was between me and mom, I was less concerned because I figured that mama would be the one that would be aggressive and probably wouldn’t let her fawn get so close to me if she was worried.”
