What happened here?
Whitetail Deer
Contributors to this thread:
I shot this doe a few weeks ago. Made a good shot on her in the morning, but I was still trying to kill a buck, so I gave her a couple of hours. When I recovered her, this is what I found. Any guesses as to what caused this?
Either one could be a possibility for sure... Just scavengers doing what they do. Lots of different critters will utilize what is left laying, could have been squirrels using the fur for bedding.
She got so pissed she started pulling her own hair out ???
Birds would be my guess. Seen them on a kill in under 10 mins.
Birds almost always go straight for the eyes. Most predators straight for the rear and sometimes to the wound. I shot a buck last year and had a coyote work his rear over in less than 20 minutes from the time I shot! Lee
Speaking of birds. Here are three bald eagles eating on a pig I shot in October. Well two of them are eating, they wouldn't let the juvenile eat. He's standing over to the left like a fence post while they ate for two hours. Sorry cell phone pic, but the best I could do.
My first thought was squirrel, but seems they would carry it away, not just pull it out and leave it.
Ravens and crows usually start on the wound and in through the butt hole.
No correct guesses yet, as I do know what happened to her.
A buck goring her trying to get her to stand?
I would guess coyote that was just beginning to work it...
If it wasn’t birds,Dave B is correct buck was goring the doe.
Another deer? I've seen a fawn do that to a downed doe.
I have had crows fly onto a deer right after it dropped. In one case the animal was still alive and I was a very short distance away (spot and stalk).
My first guess would of been coyotes getting started or birds , but I have shot does and had bucks come up and mess with does when they are dead , so the buck goring her was a good guess.
Dave B got it....almost.
I double lunged her and watched her fall about 75 yards away. A young buck watched her death run as well. He went over to where she fell and pawed at her for probably 45 minutes. He would paw on her from one side, then walked around and tried from the other side for awhile. Another interesting thing I saw him do was he was licking the blood from the doe’s wounds as well as from her mouth and nose. His muzzle was covered with it. I’ve seen bucks prod or gore downed deer before. This buck never did that, but he made up for it with his hooves.
My guess was going to be Mississipians.
Could have been his mother and he was trying to get her up. Just a guess. DANNY
I thought TBM's tracking spiders got to her.
APauls......They’re illegal here. Considered an invasive species. TBM too! I did see a couple of piss bugs when I gutted her, though.
Birds. They tend to start on the eyes if the animal has been gutted. If not, they tend to pick at the wound until they open it up. I'm betting Ravens or crows. God Bless
So it happens to them, too, eh?
T-roy, was it a button buck?
A friend of mine shot a big doe with a set of twins once. They ran across a highway, stopped after about 300 yards, and came back across the highway. Bleating the whole way.
Got to their mom bleating, bumping her with their noses and pawing at her. They didnt want to leave. I'm getting soft in my old age, but It was almost more than I could take.
I've seen similar things a few times, but that was the most extreme.
Patel....No, this was 1.5 yr old buck that had been chasing does around the flat earlier that morning. He actually kind of pushed that doe my direction. She was headed away from my stand and he harassed her till she ran back my way.
I've been there ..... sad thing to watch for sure!
Buzzards are a thought, but they would likely have still been there when you approached. In our woods they have an unbelievable ability to find dead animals very quickly once they drop.
I'm going ot say it was a 1.5 year old buck who was chasing her earlier and ran her by your stand. I bet you made a good shot and watched her drop. Then the young buck pawed at her trying to get her to stand. He probably did it for 45 minutes give or take resulting in the hair loss. Am I right? I didn't read your thread I swear:)
Next time we have a beer I'll tell you about Nichole's first deer with a bow, it was very traumatic for a mother! Ha!
You must be psychotic, Brotsky!
Or psychic....depending on who you ask, I guess ;-)