He invited protected Keys deer to his house to eat cheese, and one of them watched Fox News, cops say.

Where else can you fish sharks “off the dock” and “feed baby deer fresh avocados at the same time,” a Florida Keys man asked his Facebook friends in October.

His response: “Big Pine Key.” It’s there that.”

The rural island of the Lower Florida Keys is where Key deer, the smallest species of white-tailed deer, are almost exclusively found in the world.

The problem for the man who posted the comment, 61-year-old Thomas Scancarelli? Key deer are a federally endangered species and it is illegal to feed them or handle them in any way.

He did both, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife agents, and he let them into his home, filming and photographing 16 of the encounters and posting them on his social media.

In one article, he describes how a deer became so comfortable with Scancarelli that he watched Fox News with him.

“You can’t make this (expletive) up,” he wrote on January 12.

He was arrested this week on 16 counts of taking Key deer and 16 counts of hand-feeding them – each a second-degree felony punishable by up to 60 days in prison.

As of Thursday, Scancarelli was being held in the Monroe County Jail on $32,000 bail. He could not be reached for comment and information about his legal representation was not immediately available.

According to his Facebook posts included in his Feb. 27 arrest affidavit, Scancarelli became enamored with animals and worried that many seemed malnourished to him. He even treated a deer’s head wound with antibiotic ointment, prompting one of his Facebook friends to ask him to “keep feeding them,” according to the report.

Scancarelli responded: “Do my best,” a photo of the message included in the complaint shows.

Photos and videos posted by Scancarelli show deer begging for food on his kitchen counter and feeding an orange and a slice of cheese to the deer. The deer became so comfortable in Scancarelli’s home that they had apparently fled the place, according to his messages, Florida Fish and Wildlife Investigator Glen Way included in his report.

“In this episode of “Oh Deer. The kids were misbehaving, as always,” he posted on January 10. “There is a deer in my room, one near the sofa. Jesus, I’m just trying to find a bottle of Tito’s, and I’m dealing with this furry (expletive) show.

Scancarelli is currently on probation for an October 5, 2022 arrest for cocaine trafficking in Key West. He pleaded no contest in May 2023 and was sentenced to one year in county jail, with 210 days credit for time served. In that case, he also pleaded no contest to possession of psychedelic mushrooms, possession of the ADHD medication Adderall, and possession of the anti-anxiety medication Alprazolam, according to court documents.

Why You Shouldn’t Feed Key Deer

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the current population of Key deer is between 700 and 800 individuals. They live between Big Pine Key and No Name Key, about 30 miles northeast of Key West.

“The largest males are less than three feet tall at the shoulders and weigh about 80 pounds. Does measure 24 to 28 inches at the shoulder and weigh approximately 65 pounds,” the state Fish and Wildlife Agency states on its website.

Scientists believe their population is stable for now, but the deer remain on the endangered species list. Feeding them puts them in danger because it lessens their fear of people and makes them prone to approach humans and cars and trucks.

“Being struck by vehicles is now the leading cause of death for Key deer,” the agency said. “Illegal feeding also causes key deer populations to concentrate, making it easier for parasites and diseases to spread. »