An effort to look at things from the perspective of the deer

coveredbridgefarm

For the record, I am not a hunter and I'm not opposed to it either. And certainly, I am well aware that deer populations must be controlled. I did, however, have a rather unusual encounter with a deer late yesterday afternoon, this being near the end of deer hunting season(rifle season) which did cause me to ponder what exactly was going on.

I had just walked out to the area of my farm where most of the cattle were located to check up on them as I do most days. As I was returning to the house, I crossed an empty 8 acre pasture that I had recently closed off to both cows and horses. Somewhere during my travel across that field, I became vaguely aware of something following me. Maybe it was the rustle of leaves, or maybe it was something else, but in the rapidly growing darkness of the evening, I decided that I would wait until I had crossed the field and was in the shadows of the trees that lined the eastern fence before I would turn around and investigate in order to avoid spooking what I assumed was a stray calf or cow. Whatever it was, it appeared to be following me and now I could detect a soft sort of bleating sound which may have been the sound which had alerted me to this animal in the first place.

I'm no expert on animal sounds but the more I listened to the sound, the more mournful it sounded to me as opposed to an animal in a state of excitement or animation, but an apparently stressful sound nonetheless. I judged the distance to be within 100 feet, consistently within 100 feet, which meant that it was following me as I reached the darkness of the shadows.

Standing in the protection of the darkness and turning around in the direction of the sound, I saw, silhouetted against the western sky and in the open pasture, a deer approaching me, perhaps to a distance of 50 feet. It was without horns and she had obviously realized that I was no longer moving because she suddenly stopped moving also.

We stood there for awhile and the deer continued to emit those soft mournful(admittedly, my interpretation) bleating sounds as though she was searching for something but did not want to alert the entire community for fear of attracting a predator to her presence.

From a visual perspective, I probably had the advantage. She was standing in the waning light of the field. I was in the nearly total darkness of the shadows provided by the trees. Of course, being a deer, she had finely tuned senses which I, a mere human, did not possess. We remained at a standstill for maybe a minute or more. She sent out more bleating signals. I stood there motionless trying to figure out exactly why a deer in the midst of deer season would follow me across an open pasture at such a close distance.

And then a horse in the pasture behind me but invisible behind the trees, approached the fenceline disrupting the leaves on the ground and alerted the deer to the presence of other creatures in that pasture. The doe then walked around me, maintaining a distance of about 50 feet, continuing to send out what seemed to me to be a signal both tenuous and pitiful. She soon disappeared into the darkness, perhaps into the horse's pasture. We all know that deer can jump a normal fence.

What do you all think was going on here? I'm pretty sure this was a solitary deer. I have walked across that field in the growing darkness many times. I have never had one follow me like that. Is the fact that this behavior follows 2 weeks of deer hunting purely coincidental? Or is this type of behavior an indication of an extreme level of stress suffered by the deer who survive deer hunting season?

Am I guilty of being anthropomorphic? Does this thread sound anti-hunting? Should hunters feel threatened by a thread about the deer's perspective? Is anyone who even thinks about the deer's perspective just a silly animal lover?

Should we care enough to even consider the deer's perspective?

Questions....I have questions.

Larry

jackspark

Just the fact that you would slow down enough to notice or ponder is interesting enough for me

I don't think most people anthropomorphise (sp.) and those that do are IMO often the ones who stop to ask questions and look for answers sooooooo hooray for those who do

bit

Larry, could she have lost her baby, or maybe her mom decided it was time for her to be on her own? I don't know. The doe's hang in herds, and perhaps she's lonely.

PasoBaby_CarolU

I would think she lost her fawn or other herd mate too...or she may herself be injured. We used to bring our cows down between the bow and riffle hunt, and it would sicken you, the number of deer dead of infectious wounds that were not tracked. I think bow hunting should be illegal. It is a very inefficient way to kill an animal and very few people are good shots.

She may also have run into something or been hit by a car.

How very sad.

coveredbridgefarm

Deb, Carol, it could be something simple like that. Of course, we'll probably never know for sure, but she was apparently looking for something. It may not be too much of a stretch to assume that members of her herd had been shot, quite likely she had been a witness to some of those shootings. People do a lot of hunting on the backside of my property. It is a fairly remote area with no houses for over a mile or maybe two. It's kind of a wilderness preserve, except during deer season.

There is a risk that this is going to sound like an anti-hunting thread and it's not what I intended it to be. Those herds of deer eat a lot of my pasture. I'm in favor of some kind of control of their numbers and I raise beef cattle for meat. I repeat. I'm not anti-hunting.

But, from the doe's perspective, I'm still curious as to the most likely explanation for her behavior. For 11 months of the year, those deer have a good life back there. And then November comes around and chaos breaks out. I'm picturing scenes from the end of Avatar here.

Could this have been a deer desperately seeking safety anywhere she could find it? Comfort with any type of herd she could locate? What kind of terror does November bring for deer anyway? I guess I expected deer to run for the cover of the woods, not pursue me slowly across an open field.

Maybe it's not even important but it does raise some questions for me.

Larry

jackspark

Doesn't sound like anti-hunting to me. If hunters would slow down and consider the deers' perspective it might make a difference in how the whole activity proceeds. My family, from La, just left after a week of hunting. They left without a deer....... I respect their point of view and their skill level. They come with a specific deer in mind and aren't interested in the random kill. They saw lots of deer but nothing that met the standard sooooo it's over until next year.

learningthedance

learningthedance

PasoBaby_CarolU

Another idea is that her herd was scattered by hunters and she's looking to reunite with them. Most hunters are pretty bad shots (our kill ratio is something like 20%). I Imagine with all the trees there, it is much harder to kill a deer.

Peeperpuppy

Well I'm probably going to be uber unpopular but here goes. I am a hunter. My horseman Grandpa was a hunter/trapper & I was taught well including at the very foundation of it all is a love for wildlife. I guess the only folks who could arge against it is vegans, I suppose although their plants are living too. I'm a meat eater but I love my cows & chickens just as I love my squirrels, rabbits, turkey, deer, buffalo, elk... & yes, I eat all of those things. I don't however eat my pets & I don't allow the harvest of the 'yard' critters. So if you're a deer, squirrel or the like & you come to the house... you're in the safe zone. Everything useable is used when we harvest an animal the same as we do when butchering beef, pork or chicken. It is sad to me that so many have a bad view of hunters but it is exposure to morons that often cause this opinion to form. I don't know about that 20% kill rate. If the hunters in your area are that reckless then it's time to take away the guns & give them marbles. I hunt with ethical people & I turn in anyone who is not. Period. The men in my family archery hunt. I have or would excpet I'm no longer physically able to pull the kind of draw strength I think is needed. An ethical & contentious hunter respects the animals they hunt enough to practice their marksmanship to the point of absolute profeciency, to 100% identify their target & to make careful well placed shots so the harvest is clean & as quick as possible. Be it rifle, primative weapon or archery... a correctly placed shot can bring the animal down, many not taking more than a step & it's over (yes, even with archery). Sad to get painted into the same brand as any fool that's pulling the trigger or releasing an arrow with no more than a 20% accuracy.

Now having said all of that, I don't find your post to be anti-hunter, Larry. It brings to the forefront the reality of the situation. Just like us, the deer have a place in the circle of life. Just like us, they have connections to their own kind. In my opinion, the doe you saw lost someone. Perhaps her mother (if she wasn't full grown herself) or her last year's fawn. This time of year there's not much in the way of 'babies' with the does. Conservation officials deliberately set seasons near mating season... not birthing season for this reason. So the mothers & offspring you see are grown & capable of being on their own. But just this year I've seen a fully grown deer who was nursing its mother. If you have cows you've probably seen it too. Some moms just get in no hurry to kick the grown yongster off the milk-wagon.

I am not vegan. I eat meat. So that means all the meat I eat comes from beautiful animals just like all the vegatables & fruit I eat come from beautiful plants & trees. If the source of that food is loved & respected, then seeing something like the deer you saw touches you & strikes a chord. They are like us. Some would go sniff the body of the fallen fellow-deer & move on, others mourn... yes sometimes even to the detriment of their own survival. There is another thought that crosses my mind that might be a 'little much' for some folks but it could also be this deer was set to cross your path, Larry, for a reason. The animals have much to teach. A few years back I had a huge trophy buck walk out in front of me during season. I was set to take the shot but a doe and a set of twins - last years twins who were still hanging out with mom - came into the field. Well the buck drove the 'kids' off so he could breed the mother. I safetied my gun & just watched nature do what it does best. Could have had myself a real bragging-rights wall-hanger but I let the lot of them go. Why? Because a deer mount on my wall wasn't as precious to me as the chance to watch these deer behaving naturally without interference. The ol buck came back out into the open and stopped, he turned his head & looked square at me - as if he'd known all along that I was there. He stood broad side for the perfect shot yet it didn't occur to me to raise the gun or even attempt it. I'd been witness to something bigger & I had plenty of days left to get meat for the freezer. I am not alone in this.

It also crosses my mind Larry that in you this doe saw no threat & that you noticed her in the WAY that you did may have opened a tiny window for the experience to happen through. That you recognized that she was different & she sought solace, help or hope? For just a moment perhaps you gave peace. At any rate she came into your awareness very differently than others you've seen. An amazing thing.

I'm not threatened by a thread from the deer's perspective. Deer, like all living things are wonderous creatures.

jackspark

Wow. No, you are not alone PP. I just can't express myself as well as you do. I get lost when I read your stuff and I mean that in a good way