Tame deer becomes celebrity in tiny B.C. town

A deer that apparently was hand raised after it was abandoned by its mother is causing quite a stir in Lumby.

The animal has been seen frequenting the village's downtown area and has even entered buildings.

Diliah Quigley posted video of the young deer to the Around the Block Lumby Facebook group showing the animal outside a local business, where it had no fear of people on the street.

"Can someone fill me in on this fawn that’s running around town?," Holly Bellia asked.

"It came right into my workplace building without hesitation. I’ve heard that a family hand raised it and then moved here and brought it here with them, but now they are just letting it run free around Lumby?"

The deer is apparently dependent on human care and is too tame to be returned to the wild.

"It was at our store for over four hours, so I’m curious what’s the village's plan, if there is one? I would hate to see it get hit by a car, or end up hurting someone.

The deer, who locals say is named Fluffy, has also been seen in parks and at schools around the village.

"Fluffy is so cute and friendly, she played with us at the park for a bit yesterday! I think it's nice to see her around town. And I'm sure she will find some deer to join if she wants to," wrote Samantha Hambleton.

Anna Lafortune shed some light on the animal's origin.

"Fluffy ... was bottle raised after being left by her mother. There are no wildlife centres around that are allowed to take fawns and the conservation officers do kill them. With that being said, the deer has been raised with kids dogs, cats and goats. The original idea was that she would have rejoined her herd in Kelowna," Lafortune wrote.

"Unfortunately, that did not happen and she could not be left on the property she was raised on.

"She is not dangerous and can be gently guided away from anything.

Lafortune says the property Fluffy lives on will be getting fenced as the curious deer is "swimming across the creek to wander."