I live on 5 acres in a rural area. I have oak/hardwood ridges to the north and west of my property and oak woods to the east. Deer are common.
The other day I stopped at the end of my 300' driveway. I got out of my truck like I do every day to check the mail that I have to cross the road for. It was a damp overcast day. I opened the box and as I was getting the mail I smelled a musky kind of odor.The breeze was coming from the north. I stopped what I was doing and looked at the abandoned house that's across from mine with the overgrown weeds and such to see if I could tell where the smell came from. Just then 4 deer jumped up from the beds they were in about 40 yards from where I stood and ran off.
I believe that since these deer probably know my routine better than I do, they were fine with me getting my mail. If I had just closed the box and walked back across the road to my truck they'd have probably just stayed bedded and watched me go about my business.
I think the reason they bolted like they did is because they knew that the wind was blowing their scent towards me. I reacted by looking their way like a predator would and that made them flee.
Now once again, these deer live literally side by side with us 24/7/365. They know when we wake up and what we made for dinner. They obviously have us patterned better than we even realize.
What this experience taught me again is that our BODY LANGUAGE has a lot to do with us spooking deer. My farmer friend and I were doing a deer drive on one of his farms during gun season a few years back. The other 3 hunters were posted up ahead of us. We were moving slow and stopping while watching each other so we weren't both moving at the same time. I saw my friend walk by a thicket and then as he was walking he mounted his gun and started to pivot. When he turned as far as he could he stopped and just then a big 10 pointed jumped from it's bed at about 30 yards and he killed it. He said he saw the buck bedded and figured that if he stopped the deer would run off before he could get ready for the shot. He was right. That deer was reading us.
I've also walked close to deer, walked past them and around them by doing the "farmer walk" and not looking at them directly. I truly believe they can recognize our body language in many cases. I also believe they sense eye contact, especially at close range.
I sometimes talk at them in a low soothing voice...
A major strategy of my deer hunting is figuring out what the other hunters are doing (pattering them) then adapting my activity.
Paul, every moment of every day a deer is evaluating scent much the same as your dog. The difference is the deer is a "prey" animal. In my experience I am convinced deer know where their scent is going. Most time, when beded, they face the way their wind is blowing (so they can use their eyes) since their nose covers them from upwind. Amazing creatures. C
"A farmer in Canada walked to his barn in the dark every day. Deer would often be feeding near his barn. When the wind blew toward the deer, they stood in the dark and watched him without alarm. When he was downwind of the deer, they bolted away. Why?"
"Because when the deer could smell the farmer, they knew who it was and knew he wasn't a threat. When they couldn't smell him, they couldn't be sure who it was and whether a threat was present - so they left the scene!"
Deer are a mystery!
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I don't know for certain, but if I had to bet I'd say yes. Many times I've seen deer habitually bed where it's impossible to approach them with the wind in your favor because they could see you plain as day, and if you came from where they couldn't see you they'd be long gone by time you could because they'd smell you. I don't think they do this by chance. The deer in the situation I describe here I think were aware of their scent, and that may have made them a bit more alert. But what made them flee was when I reacted to it. I know there's no way to really know shy of setting up that same situation, which is impossible. But if I could, I'd not react like I did but just walk back across the road to my truck. I'l bet they'd have not spooked then.
God Bless,
Scar.
Don't know if it's "reason", but do believe they "learn" from experience who or what is harmful to them and what is not...
He also has coveralls that smell like cow/pig poop, and his smokes Winston's like a chimney. The first day of gun season he always walks up the ridge behind his house, sits on the ground in the open and shoots a deer. A NICE deer. Every year and wearing the same coveralls and puffing away. The only thing I can think of is that for 364 days out of a year he's no threat and sometimes a source of a meal. On day 365 he is. This obviously proves that deer don't have calendars......I think!
Ever see a mature deer out in the open, and suddenly catch you presence from a distance... Notice their heads and watch them look different directions... They are deciding which way to run... Don't know it that is thinking, but that is making decisions....
If ever a person ends up with a wounded animal, I find that is where it shines the most as the wounded animal wants to stay hidden and believe you don't see them.
For the deer getting conditioned thing, there was that documentary about wild mule deer someone posted a link on here a while ago about that guy that becomes "part of the herd." Amazing documentary. That was conditioning to the nth degree. Super interesting.
I definitely believe they are aware of where their scent is blowing , as well as a myriad of other things that we don't usually give them credit for. Many won't agree, but a mature whitetail , from my limited experience with other species, is one of the hardest animals to get within bow range on a regular basis.
But in all seriousness its true they make decisions, they decide where to feed if possibly harassed, or unharassed, what time to feed if possibly harassed, or unharassed, where to bed, etc.... That is not all instinct or natural behavior, its reasoning, or in other words, thinking...
So Several of you have written "they don't think" What is your backup for this? Animals are very intelligent, they don't have the same reasoning and feelings we do, but they do think and the y do reason... Hey they even dream! I trained "K-9" Dogs when I was a younger man and I have also trained several bird dogs...they might be trained, and they might be conditioned, but don't kid yourself into believing that they (Animals) don't "think" they are way smarter than most people would ever believe.
God Bless,
Scar.
That being said I do believe animals can evolve through time to develop more human like feelings by continued contact with our behavior. Only way to explain some behavior exhibited by K9s. By us feeding them and keeping them safe maybe it has excellerated the evolutionary process. I really have no idea but it sounds good.
I once saw a show on the Discovery Channel about Canadian wolves. It focused on this one pack and they were going after woodland caribou. The pack went into the area where they'd hunted caribou before to look for them and they found them. So far nothing unusual. But then they were in a small valley and the caribou were up ahead of the pack. Now get this......some of the pack WENT AROUND THE CARIBOU AND WAITED WHILE THE OTHERS MADE A "DRIVE".
Think about that and what it means. They had to be thinking into the future. Animals aren't supposed to be able to do that. They were also ORGANIZED in their hunt. Believe me, I've orchestrated deer drives with supposedly "HIGHER INTELLIGENCE" human beings that was like trying to organize and herd house cats! Getting 4 human standers to specific locations to maximize the effectiveness of a deer drive without physically leading them to the tree you want then to stand at is almost impossible, and yet these wolves did it like a Special Forces recon team.
Go figger!!!
I think we are saying the same thing... I have had K'9s figure out how to open kennels, track through and around things I didn't think they could, ourt smart eperimeter electric fences, and one of my bird dogs could open the cabinet I kept her treats in and would help herself... that takes reasoning and thought.
God Bless,
Scar.
Now that was "thinking", no matter how you define it. He wasn't taught this, he just started doing it after many, many hunts. Good Lord how I loved hunting with that dog!
God Bless,
Scar.
I've seen dogs and horses do too many things to think otherwise.
I had two different horses at different times that would mope around, and exhibit sadness when the cattle they were pastured with were moved to winter pasture. They didn't like being alone.
I had a roping horse that could be happy. He loved to chase cows. Loved to run them. Either under saddle or by himself in a pasture. You could see him having fun. You could feel his excitement under saddle while chasing.
Same with dogs. Ever had a lab quiver with excitement and whine in anticipation next to you while a flock of ducks was cupped and locked in? Tell me that's not happiness and excitement
Fear. . . for sure. A horse will get spooked by something stupid he's never seen before and get wide-eyed and his nostrils will flare and his heart will race! I've seen it too many times.
I've seen dogs and horses both work out simple problems they've never been confronted with. They have to "think" at some level to be able to do that.
