A sign recently posted on the Animas River Trail near the fish hatchery urges trail users to keep moving to avoid confrontations with an aggressive deer protecting its fawn.
The two signs, posted at the south end of the fish hatchery and the north end of the Durango Public Library, ask people to proceed quickly through the 300-yard area and to not stop. It recommends a detour on east Park Avenue. It also says to keep dogs on leashes at all times.
Parks and Wildlife spokesman Joe Lewandowski said there have been reports the protective doe chased after a couple dogs and made some moves toward people recently.
“We get reports every year of does aggressively protecting their fawns,” he said. “People moving through there should keep an eye out and move quickly. If they see the deer approach, yell at it – don’t approach it.”
Lewandowski said in a couple weeks the fawn should be big enough to travel with the doe across larger swaths of land, less aggressively.
Until then, he asked that people be responsible about their human-wildlife interactions.
“We live in a town where there’s deer, and some people like them and some people don’t,” he said. “But hopefully, people will tolerate this and realize that these animals have a place out in the wild too.”
