One Owen Sound woman got a rude awakening and another one was startled when a deer jumped through their ground-floor apartment window.
Officers with the Owen Sound Police Service were attending an unrelated call at an apartment complex on Sunday afternoon in the northwest quadrant of the city when they noticed a deer wandering into the building’s parking area, a press release states.
Officers say there was nearby activity and residents were making noises, which appeared to startle the deer. As a result, it leapt through a bedroom window.
The apartment was occupied by two women and one had been asleep in the bedroom at the time.
Officers at the scene evacuated both occupants for their safety and opened the patio door to provide the animal with a large escape route, according to a news release.
“After several attempts to guide the deer toward the opening, and with some gentle encouragement, the animal leapt back through the same window, freeing itself,” it states.
Officers say one resident sustained minor scrapes to her arm and that the damage to the bedroom was “significant.”
“The deer appeared uninjured — just a little embarrassed,” police say.
Insp. Craig Matheson with Owen Sound police told Global News he cannot recall an incident like this happening in the area in his 25-year tenure.
While this may be a first for Owen Sound police, it’s not the first time a deer has attempted a break-in.
In 2024, Global News reported a deer broke through a window at a recreation complex in LaSalle, Ont., near Windsor.
It happened during a swimming lesson when nearly 30 kids and instructors were in the pool and parents and guardians were watching from the deck.
A parent who was at the complex at the time told Global News it took approximately 15 to 20 minutes to get the deer out of the pool.
Back in 2019, three deer broke into MPP Jennifer French’s office in Oshawa before one moved on and jumped through the window of a local bar.
Dr. Sherri Cox, the medical director at the National Wildlife Centre, told Global News she treated that deer seven years ago, which required more than 50 sutures.
“It was being followed by curious humans wanting to take a picture of this unique sighting in downtown Oshawa, but was frightened and stressed,” she said.
The unusual occurrence is a result of fear, Cox said, noting that deer are prey animals that view humans as predators.
“Some deer that have been conditioned to humans, such as some urban deer, may be less fearful of humans, but the vast majority of deer I have worked with are very stressed when they encounter a human,” she said.
When a deer is stressed, its first instinct is to get away. Cox said deer do not always recognize a window as a solid barrier, and can attempt to jump through.