A Deer odyssey through the Glebe

By Randal Marlin

It was 8 a.m. on Monday, May 15. I had just dropped off my car to Malcolm Griffin at Griffin’s Automotive on Isabella and O’Connor and was walking home to Third Avenue. I was lost in thought about the day’s events.

I heard a strange noise, getting louder, that my brain couldn’t categorize. I turned my head and saw a sizable animal! A deer! Moving! Galloping! Fast! Heading toward Fifth Avenue. It must have come from Isabella. Maybe it had come from the Queensway? I soon lost sight of it, but as I headed toward Fifth Avenue, I spoke with people coming the other way and got reports on its whereabouts.

Most of the people had seen the deer, and I learned that city authorities and police had been contacted. (I’m not a very fast walker at my age.) Still, I thought it would be cool to get a picture, so I continued to Fifth Avenue. I could see a knot of people gathered, looking in the general direction of the tot lot (officially named Lionel Britton Park). What I saw was the deer wedged between a backyard wooden fence and the tot lot’s Lundy fence. It was not possible for the deer to proceed westward because a large tree blocked the way. It was too narrow for it to turn around. It did not seem to want to back up.

This was a very scared deer. People were thoughtful enough to avoid scaring it any more. I went into the tot lot, hoping for my picture, but suddenly the deer began to make powerful attempts to leap over the Lundy fence. On the third try, it succeeded, amazingly, given the angle of the jump! It landed in the tot lot unharmed. There was a lot of muted cheering by spectators. I tried to be inconspicuous, not just for the deer’s sake, but for my own safety as well. As it got to the Fifth Avenue border, I finally got picture number one. The deer is inside the fence, looking at the firehall.

I guess the deer liked the look of what it saw, because it leaped over the fence and proceeded down toward Lansdowne Park. It seems to have gone to the dog walk (bad choice!), because I saw it once again running this time east of O’Connor, back to Fifth and the Driveway. I got my second picture at this stage.

Around this time, there was considerable commotion. Two city cars made an appearance along with police south of Fifth Avenue. I spoke with police and city officials and nodded towards the firefighters watching from the firehall, but by then I had lost sight of the deer.

At that time, I ran into a friend, Greg Macdougall, who was on a bicycle and had access to better photographic equipment. I showed him my first photograph. Off he rode in pursuit. He told me later that the deer jumped the Rideau Canal railing and swam up towards the Bank Street Bridge, stopping at Pig Island before proceeding.

Greg sent me motion pictures – wow, could that deer swim fast! He also sent them to the CBC, which aired the water part of the deer’s odyssey. I guess the deer was fed up with dogs, cars and people and found aquatic happiness after jumping into the Canal.

Later Greg was informed via his website, EquitableEducation.ca, that the deer had been near the NAC and came to Isabella via Elgin. After the canal swim, it reportedly made its way to safety in the Arboretum.

I’ve lived in the Glebe since 1966 without ever seeing a deer here, apart from one in captivity at a petting zoo at Lansdowne.

The experience of the galloping deer on O’Connor Street reminded me a bit of the crow’s reaction, in Walt Disney’s Dumbo, to the vision of a flying elephant.

Keep your eyes and ears open for other signs of nature in the Glebe and in Ottawa as a whole. Young readers won’t believe this, but a moose once walked into the Riverside Hospital (as it was then known). Ask your grandparents. I trust that the story about the moose being ejected because it lacked an OHIP card is only an irresistible fictional embellishment.

Randal Marlin is an author, professor, lecturer, long-time Glebe resident and natural storyteller.