Quadruplets!!!
Whitetail Deer
Was out for one last mushroom hunt this morning and noticed a storm moving in. As lightening started to crash all around me, I thought in my infinite wisdom that the lightening would have a tougher time deciding between 'me and the trees' if I crept through the timber on my way back to the truck ;)
I noticed a bare spot in the timber, and thinking it was a natural salt lick, I moved over to investigate. I was looking down and took a step over a rise and said...WHOA! out loud.
No sooner had I said "WHOA" than one of the little ones Bah'd back at me!! Then one of the fawns stood up--wobbly--legged and all--and started moving toward me. I took a quick video and hustled out of there.. with ol'wobbly legs still walking toward me.
If you look close...there are FOUR fawns here... QUADRUPLETS!!! They couldn't have been but a day or two old. The one in the background looked like the scene out of a Disney movie as he wobbled away. I never touched them or got closer than 5 yards after literally stumbling upon them.
Still smiling as I type this.
I think there is often a misconception with hunting and conservation--and some may find it hypocritical that one can find the same excitement in this discovery and coming to full draw on a mature deer come fall...but I can assure you that an individual can experience both:)
Super cool! And I understand your comments completely!
Very cool! I've only ever encountered twins.
Beautiful!
That would have to be incredibly rare to find quadruplets!
Great find:-)
Thanks for sharing!
Really neat experience- thanks for sharing.
Very cool, thanks for sharing!
What a treat to see that!
Great story! Never found a fawn myself but can totally understand your excitement! An anti hunter probaly would have called animal control that 4 fawns were abandoned after they touched and took selfies with all of them. Well done
That is life! Good for you Eyad. It’s ALWAYS about the “next”!!
The spotted ones aren't ripe yet.
Pretty cool, Eyad!
What a unique experience. You saw one beautiful morning of nature.
You witnessed something an anti could only dream about !
In the words of George Strait....I saw God today!
Reminds me of a day a few years ago I was in the backyard looking at how much the deer were eating the food plot. Looked down at my feet and the prettiest eyes were staring up at me.
cool stuff, I saw one out on an island while fishing a river couple years ago. mama must have swam out to have fawns safe from coyotes. and they say deer don't think
Incredible experience, Eyad! I’ve heard of them having quads, but only seen them with triplets a couple of times. Be interesting to know if they all make it to the fall. Always a blessing to get to experience these little guys up close.
Well said and very cool. Thanks for sharing.
They sure are cute! This is a Chital fawn I stumbled upon In Australia.
I have seen triplets several times over the years but never 4. That is pretty cool. Ours will be dropping soon. Shawn
I have never walked up on deer like that but...many years ago I found a few elk calf’s that could not have been more than a day or two old. I still remember the experience. It was awesome! I have also had the price page to take more than my share of elk with a bow. Different but also awesome experience.
Ouch Darren :(
Again, just walked up on them by accident, took a quick pic and moved on.
Take care my friend.
Why were they all together? I’ve always heard that the mother keeps them apart so a lucky coyote can’t get em all when they come upon them just like you did.
Great question and it's the first time I've seen a fawn under those circumstances. I've jumped them in June before when they could run off but these were wobbly legged and could barely walk. I've read they can walk 7-8 hrs after birth and they were BARELY doing that.
The bare spot I saw I am almost sure is where she was laying when she gave birth and I imagine was hours before. Maybe sooner? I doubt I'll ever see anything like it again and am still pretty excited about it :)
Very cool!
We're seeing a lot of very plump does on trail cams right now.
Is it possible that more than one doe stashed her babies there?
I suppose it's possible but would be even more rare than quads I would think?
Pretty green with the fawn info but been interesting to read up on them and sounds like quads are rare but do occur.
City deer? The warden up at our old place told us that when deer are fed by humans, fawn numbers increase. We have lots of twins and a few triplets running around every year.
Good info Rich but it's a rural farm and dont feed them besides 'food plots' .
Maybe just good timing on the does part:)
Eyad, to me they only look several hours old, and probably haven't even gotten up much at all, so they are there together. They still look a little wet rom birth. Incredible find and you did nothing wrong taking a few pics and exiting the area. Some people (PAT!) just think they are above the rest, who's rude and thoughtless comments are disrespectful at best (idiot?? really?). It takes more than a close approach for a doe to abandon her fawns, maybe you should know a little about ungulate biology before lambasting someone for something they didn't even know was going to happen. Take a look at Eyad's pictorial hunting history, he clearly Is not an idiot - obviously knows more about animal behavior that most on here.
"It takes more than a close approach for a doe to abandon her fawns.."
Thanks Calvin. I appreciate the thoughts and post. I agree and two days later still pretty excited about it.
Darren (Pat)-please try to be a bit more respectful (ie idiot) as my family (non-hunters and my 7 old will eventually read this thread).
I gave you one free pass without trying to be negative or getting in an 'internet argument' (which I won't)...so let's not take that any further (not farther ;) )
I wouldn't think about going back or showing others, more pics etc. To me it's very similar to bumping a giant whitetail out of his bedding area; they're are not going to leave based on one intrusion-- while multiple ones will cause problems.
But it sounds like you have some experience based on your posts, some negative I assume--so I am here to learn like the rest of us if you have anything constructive to add.
Thanks guys.
What a great find! You did nothing wrong by taking some video of the fawns. Time for some on here to get an education. Look no further than QDMA...
Here is another article from QDMA about fawns.
Pat, go back to AT and troll there.
"To me it's very similar to bumping a giant whitetail out of his bedding area; they're are not going to leave based on one intrusion" Absolutely, and I had this very experience last fall - shot at and 'missed' a big buck in his bed on a small hummock in a swamp. It was a rifle shot,a nd the bullet struck a small sapling deflecting it, causing the miss. The buck never changed his pattern and two days later I tracked him to the very same bed but this time he was a bit more educated and got out before I could get into the same lane I shot from before - two more steps and I would have had the same shot. He bedded in the same area over the next several weeks but I never got a shot again. Late bow season, he was still there every day. Even when I was continually bumping him almost daily. Likewise, does will not just leave their fawns after someone is nearby, esp. just once.
That's an awesome experience and thing to see.
We all know(the ones that actually KNOW) that the doe will be back just fine.
Way to take the high road Eyad!. Cool find and I hope that in 5-6 years you have another encounter with one of them. :)
Glad to know I'm not the only one that loves baby season.
Yet another example of why we need to reinstate thread owner tools. Cool find I’m sure the doe was back within a few minutes of you leaving. Seams Pat(Darren) is in an extreme minority here, I’ll second Midwest’s comment.
Cool story Calvin and in the 90s, before trail cams--or before I had them anyway--I would purposely walk through bedding areas to locate big bucks. I would return and hang a stand on the perimeter. I killed a few like this through the years as it gave me confidence knowing they were there and to keep at it. Can't ever remember not seeing that buck again--although I only killed a few.
Whitetails are more resilient that many give them credit for and I've moved my kids and wife before.....and told my wife she can bury me in the backyard before we move again.
I bet having quadruplets--that doe feels the same way, especially since her man friend ran out on her.....;)
Hawkeye, nicely done. At one of the regional CBA 3d shoots in the mts of Colorado, and lying within 10 ft of a deer target was a mule deer fawn. It stayed there for a while as bow hunters moved by and removed their arrows. Always great to see Spring's rebirth. Thanks for sharing. I will add this pic to the pot. my best, Paul
Very cool, Eyad! Thanks for sharing.
Eyad, those bucks establish their core area and usually remain there no matter what. They had to fight to obtain it. They aren't gonna leave that easily, they just learn how to avoid you time and again. I found the buck's sheds only a few hundred yards away from his main bedding area this spring. One had a bullet fragment hit it from the deflection, a hole and crack from it in the end of the main beam.
Crazy cool Eyad!!!
A sign of good habitat, food and soil fertility!
Mark
Is there something in the water in Connecticut? Kevin
Eyad, awesome pic, thanks for sharing. You have a ton of class as most Bowsiter's already know.
Pat, find a new hobby.
I hope Pat L cleans up the member list soon...... :)
Very cool Eyad.
I've seen some triplets, but never quads. Never even heard of it. Must have been a very healthy doe.
Great picture thanks for sharing made my day Lewis
Nothing wrong with your thoughts Pat, just your disrespectful delivery. Oh, and the propagation of the urban legend that doe abandon their fawns when a human gets too close which was started by someone who noticed a fawn that didn't have its mother nearby, which is normal deer behavior.
