Hello. My name is Peter O’Donnell. I was born in the United States of America. I most recently lived in Australia. I was there for four years studying Ecology/Sociology at Monash University. I only recently arrived on the island of Jeju.
I find the island scenery to be very beautiful and peaceful on Jeju. Just the other day, as I was walking to the university, I saw my first roe deer (노루). It was walking across an open field and looked up at me. It seemed to be curious but not terribly afraid.
It does my heart and spirit good to see such a graceful, magnificent animal. I see horses on my walk to work, and they in themselves are wonderful creatures, but to see a large animal like a roe deer, wild and free, can only make ones spirit soar. I am not sure why this is.
Sometimes I equate it with a spiritual connection with nature, and still other times I am apt to analyze it in more scientific terms. In a spiritual context, observing the fluid and confident movements of such an animal influences and inspires, and in some way calms the mind and soothes the soul. In a more ecological sense, it is at least some indication that the habitat is healthy enough to support a roe deer population.
Of course, more in-depth research would need to be done on the size and structure of the roe deer population in a given area to come to a better conclusion as to whether the island’s deer habitat is being affected by recent urban development and encroachment into rural areas.
And yet, in a spiritual context, there is something mysterious or otherworldly in that chance encounter between modern man and wild animal. Maybe it is a connection to our distant past or our animal-selves within.
Maybe it makes one feel special, a totem or a sign of sorts that nature is allowing you to peer inside her mysterious ways. That, which is normally hidden, is on display for you and only you to watch and be amazed. A play, if you like, where nature is the theater, plants, trees, and rocks are the scenery, and animals are the actors.
Whatever the reasons, after seeing the roe deer, I smiled to myself and felt content.
My hope is that the local and provincial governments take great care in developing Jeju Island so that the roe deer population and other wildlife have suitable habitat well into the future.