Deer games

Deer tag, huh? That's cool. I wonder how the deer decide who's going to be IT?

I live in a pretty urban area. The last time I saw wild deer was when I was driving near the hills at night. The car in front of me slammed on the brakes, so did I, and two deer ran across the road and disappeared into the woods on the other side. I was smiling for the rest of my trip back home.

Awww! I saw two young deer yesterday morning on my drive to work, they'd already lost their spots, but they were so cute. The usually head down to the bay for some salt in the mornings, so you have to keep an eye out.

I just love watching wild animals at play, it definitely puts a smile on my face

oh thank god! when I saw the title of this thread I though for sure... here's some ******* hunter trying to write about his sick 'sport' and make us all like the idea of killing poor animals.
I was so relieved that you were merely watching them. Whew! I was going to go off on the bastard!
anyway, sure, fauns are extrememly social animals. They get more aloof as they mature. Did you know that people can communicate a bit with deer? There are two different kinds of gestures they do, and if you do it first, they will repeat the movement, or do the other one. One of them in a low bow, which I think is some kind of freindlier communication thatn the other one, which is a hard stamp on the ground... that means this is my turf.
try it... you'll see. I love animals
darkness

Isn't it great to see the fawns playing! We have a doe and two spotted fawns in the yard and they do the same thing. And you're right, they're fast! I've yet to get a picture with them in action. So far I've snapped a dozen shots and all I get is a part of a leg or an ear. One of these days I'll have my camera on continuous snap mode and catch the little critters before they jump out of view. LOL

That is such a great story! I live in the city now, surrounded by other homes, but every now and then I see a bunny hopping around in the back or front yard late at night...or Lucky brings him in the house...alive and I spend the next few hours trying to catch the cute thing!

Thanks for sharing!

awatkins - Neat story! They are so precious and I love watching deer.

I have several cool deer stories from when I lived in PA just outside of Valley Forge Nat'l Park. One morning on a walk, I spotted a fawn and her mother. The fawn was very flirtatious and I stopped and talked to her quietly telling her how pretty she was and what a beautiful baby she was. She was fascinated and close enough that I could count her eyelashes that framed her big brown eyes. Her mother watched at a distance of about twenty feet. The baby decided to play hide and seek with me. She ran across the path and ducked behind a wide square fence post. She'd stick her head out one side and look at me and I'd tell her "I see you," then she'd shift position and poke her head around the other side. This went on for several minutes until mommy tired of the games and trotted up over an embankment and urged her youngun to follow.

Love those deer!

The twin fawns were back this morning playing. THIS time I had my Canon ready with the zoom lense on. As soon as I get them developed, provided I didn't catch just elbows and ears, I'll post them.

At my old house we had a huge patch of conservation land behind our house, so there were lots of deer around. I've only seen them a few times, but I do remember clearly when we had two of them grazing in the backyard one summer evening. It was one of the greatest things I've ever seen.

I don't know if we still have the pictures but there was another time when a herd of them were walking down the trail right next to our house, single file at that. I think there were at least eight.

Unfortunately I haven't seen any since we moved, but I have seen a bunch of wild turkeys and once when I was pulling in the driveway late at night, a coyote ran across the road further down.

~DragonHeart~

darkness said:

oh thank god! when I saw the title of this thread I though for sure... here's some ******* hunter trying to write about his sick 'sport' and make us all like the idea of killing poor animals.
I was so relieved that you were merely watching them. Whew! I was going to go off on the bastard!
anyway, sure, fauns are extrememly social animals. They get more aloof as they mature. Did you know that people can communicate a bit with deer? There are two different kinds of gestures they do, and if you do it first, they will repeat the movement, or do the other one. One of them in a low bow, which I think is some kind of freindlier communication thatn the other one, which is a hard stamp on the ground... that means this is my turf.
try it... you'll see. I love animals
darkness

Click to expand...

That stamp on the ground is a warning to you to back off. It's usually followed by a loud snort. The head down thing is so they can see and smell more clearly so they can determine your status as predator. If you stomp and snort back, you'll get a similar reaction. The doe is trying to figure out whether she needs to run or can continue whatever she was doing when you appeared. She reads your response as having the same meaning. Generally if you snort and stomp, the doe will eventually settle down as you appear then to be another prey animal testing the waters just as she was. She's not imitating your movements, just going through an exchange of ID, so to speak.

We have a huge deer herd in the neighborhood (several hundred head), and I have twenty or so who live on my farm. They can be fun to watch when I'm not cursing them out for breaking my fences (rutting season is hell on farmers) or eating my rhododendron. I took some great photos which I'll post if I can find them on my drive. Twin fawns had chosen my neighbor's garden for their nap times for about a month. I can't say they were sociable, but as long as no one approached too closely, they stayed put. I was able to get close enough with a zoom lens to really get some amazing pictures.

For the most part, a very young fawn will stay wherever the doe left it unless there's an iminent threat. This results in fawns being easy pickings for foxes and coyotes. I've had my horse step over fawns in the woods. Sometimes the deer will get up and scoot away, but often they just stay put, waiting for momma to return. My deer graze in the pasture with the horses and the flock of wild turkeys. Each group has its own section; they don't intermingle.

Very "slice-of-life" outside my office window.

Hmmmm. . .

Well, no, I won't be posting those pics. I'm not enabled for attachments.

Someone out there want to enable me? I promise to be good.

Ah ha! I got the film developed and the pics of the fawns didn't turn out too bad.

I'm lounging on my bed with my lap top and my swollen legs elevated right now, so I'll post the pictures tomorrow.

They were outside my window again this evening and it's surprising how much they've grown in just a few weeks.

Okay, here's the picture as promised. They're not playing, but they're cute, even if they are eating what's left of my garden. And you can still see their spots.