One deer, two deer, three deer…more?
First Oak Bay Preliminary Progress Report
It’s been awhile since we last posted – it’s been busy!
Since January, our Project Manager, Sandra Frey, along with data analyst Joanna Burger, and our lead scientist Dr. Jason Fisher, finalized a Preliminary Progress Report as required by the Province of BC and presented it to Oak Bay Council on February 19, for subsequent submission to the Province.
What’s the bottom line?
Based on the data from August 2018, there are between 72 – 128 deer in Oak Bay, with a 95% confidence interval. This is a very precise number and will likely be narrowed even more as more data is analyzed.
We’ve also learned that the deer population is not distributed evenly throughout Oak Bay, with the highest concentrations in the Uplands, around the golf courses, and near Oliver and Brighton Streets.
The cutting-edge research and statistical techniques being used in the Oak Bay/Provincial/UWSS Research Project are providing important insights into Oak Bay’s deer population that will inform effective management strategies in the future. For instance, some residents estimated the number of deer to be much higher, often between 400 – 1000….we can now say conclusively, based on the scientific evidence, that the median number of deer in Oak Bay is actually … 97.
It’s important to remember that if you are seeing multiple deer, you are likely seeing the same deer multiple times, rather than multiple deer one time each!
The full report can be seen at:
If you have any questions, please contact us at info@uwss.ca.