Oh Deer! Parkfairfax Welcomes Urban Wildlife

Residents of Alexandria’s Parkfairfax neighborhood are getting to know a family of deer that have taken root in a seven-acre patch of woodlands north of Gunston Road and west of Valley Drive.

Nicknamed the “600 Woods” by residents after the numbers on nearby Parkfairfax buildings, the area has seen intensive rehabilitation over the previous three decades.

“[Volunteers have worked]… to recreate the kind of oak-hickory woodland that once covered most of Northern Virginia,” Parkfrairfax resident Robert Coontz wrote in an email. “Now the woods are well on their way to becoming a slice of prehistory. The deer, at least, seem to approve.”

Neighbors have been exchanging notes on sightings of a doe and two fawns. The animals have been sighted on the edge of the woods and entering the street on Gunston Road and Valley Drive.

Alexandria Animal Control will not remove any species of native wildlife that has not entered a living space, unless it is sick, injured or posing a safety threat. The deer are considered urban wildlife and are free to roam where they like.

Residents ask that drivers be alert for the deer while driving through Parkfairfax. 

Have you seen the Parkfairfax deer? Have any photos to share? Send them to delray@patch.com.