Gellatly Nut Farm Regional Park

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

First it was the invasive gray squirrels that decimated the hazelnut crop at West Kelowna’s Gellatly Nut Farm.

Now there is a report that a deer kicked a small dog to death in the park. Every day the park is filled with up to a dozen deer, dozens of squirrels, ducks and other waterfowl —  and the conflicts with people are adding up.

“I know there was as a dog–deer wildlife conflict on main trail,” Matt Hammond, manager of park operations for the Regional District of Central Okanagan, told iNFOnews.ca. “I understand there was mother deer with some fawns, I believe two."

“When our staff went out to check on things, pretty much immediately, she saw the mother and two deer just sitting on the ground nice and calm. She didn’t approach them too close by any means but they didn’t seem to be exhibiting any aggressive behaviour at that time.”

The Conservation Officer Service investigated the incident. While it confirmed that a dog had been killed, no one was available to comment on the incident. This is the first violent interaction with deer that Hammond has heard of in the last couple of years but deer do frequent the park.

Gordon Ficky is the President of the Gellatly Nut Farm Society and he sees growing problems with wildlife.

“All our hazelnuts disappeared because of the squirrels and the walnuts, when they fall on the ground, we’re not there all the time and the deer, they get them,” Ficke told iNFOnews.ca.

Three years ago, iNFOnews.ca reported that there was a growing problem with the squirrels.

“When I first started at the farm, six or so years ago, I would maybe count five squirrels in a week,“ Jennifer Reece, the society’s secretary, told iNFOnews.ca at the time. “Now you count 15 before you get out of the car.”

READ MORE: Invasive grey squirrels in the B.C. Interior remain under the radar

Since then they’re gotten worse with two long rows of hazelnut trees entirely stripped of their nuts this year.

"Unfortunately, in order for us to have a good crop, those black squirrels have to go," Ficke said. “There’s no other alternative, otherwise we’re not going to have any more nuts.”

This year it was the hazelnuts because they’re easy for the squirrels to get but as their numbers grow, he expects they will join with the deer in going after walnuts.

“They just have to be trapped,” Ficke said. “There is no other way you can really deal with it. If you’re a farmer you understand that, if you’ve got something that’s attacking your crops, you just have to deal with it.”

While trapping may not be palatable to some who enjoy the cute critters, Ficke pointed out that gray squirrels are an invasive species that have killed off the native red squirrels.

It's also creating conflict with the regional district, which owns the park.

“We kind of have a bit of delicate dance with the regional district because of this,” Ficke said. “It has taken awhile for them to understand that in order for us to have a farm there, we need to deal with the wildlife that is there. The Gellatly Nut Farm is more of an unusual circumstance for the regional district. Normally they deal with just a regular park with walking trails and that kind of thing. We actually have a farm in there. It’s been an educational process for them to understand.”

It has, for example, taken a long time for the regional district to agree to co-fund an expensive program to spray three times a year to control the husk fly that attacks the walnut trees, Ficke said.

Now he wants them to take on the squirrel challenge.

READ MORE: West Kelowna's nutty roots are unique to the Okanagan, and due to the Gellatly family

This latest attack by the deer – along with other visitors noting aggressive actions by the ungulates – show they need to be taken into account as well.

Dogs are only allowed along the Beach Trail near the western end of the park and those must be on leash. Signs have also been posted advising people what to do in case of aggressive deer behavior.

That includes things like diving for cover if a deer attacks and curling into a ball if knocked to the ground.

Image Credit: Submitted/Regional District of Central Okanagan

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