How smart are deer ?

[bobbi-j]

I agree with the idea that he recognizes your scent and does not see you as a threat.

 

[sourland]

I agree with the idea that he recognizes your scent and does not see you as a threat.

I am relatively certain that this is correct. He has seen/smelled me since he was a fawn, and his mother was not particularly fearful of me. (Apparently of others too as she was shot the year he was born.) I'm still trying to figure out why others haven't seen him. There have been rumors from the hunters surrounding our property of the 'big buck'. I steadfastly deny his existence.

 

[microchick]

Interesting stuff here.

We live in an area with a big deer population and a lot of hunting pressure. It's general knowledge that if you are not lucky enough to get a deer the first three days of the season your chance of getting your tag filled drop considerably. I don't know whether or not it's a mark of intelligence or conditioning to respond to the sound of gun fire but all the trophy bucks go nocturnal. The younger bucks get careless in their quest for love but those old boys know to make themselves scarce as soon as they hear those first rifle shots and when they go nocturnal, so do the does. It doesn't seem to matter what stage of the rut they are in.

I wonder if your buck's reaction to you isn't conditioning. He knows the area is safe. He knows that you are no threat so he is hanging around there instead of with his head mounted on a wall and his back straps slow cooking in a crock pot.

Deer around us are far more 'visible' when it isn't hunting season than when it is.

As for intelligence? I'm kinda dubious as to whether or not there is an Einstein in the deer world. After all they are related to sheep and the sheep we owned were never the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree.

I can remember Ted Nugent was once asked the question concerning deer intelligence and he replied that he thought deer (bucks)were capable of three thoughts. What can I eat? Can I out run danger? and What doe can I mate with? Now I'm not saying he is right but I guess what I am saying is only a deer knows what it is thinking if it is thinking at all or running on pure instinct.

I say Enjoy you 8 point buck as long as you can. Just keep in mind that he can lay a world of hurt on you if he decides to.

As for CWD we have it here thanks to a STUPID STUPID STUPID hunting reserve owner who brought contaminated, infected deer into his reserve and infected the wild population. No I don't have too much sympathy for him but loads for the deer population.

 

[perchie.girl]

I live in the city a city that has wild life corridores throughout.
Deer tend to just keep a distance but dont run off when I used to ride my horse in those places. Mule Deer are Big too.

I once followed a buck and about four or five does up the road... No idea about hunting season here... But surely there is no hunting in the city.

deb

 

[Ravynscroft]

No, not necessarily near populated areas/homes/roads. National forest land, which is where I'm typically out hiking with my dogs, on or off trail, which is also the same land where hunting is permitted.

Ah... but NPCA highly regulates any hunting, it's not a general public hunting ground, but allowed by special permit/narrow hunting windows...

 

[Stayc]

@sourland i truly believe he recognizes you and knows you mean him no harm. Now im not saying to go try to rub his belly but i believe he feels safe around you or would have acted differently otherwise. Very cute.

 

[bobbi-j]

I'm almost certain that the deer have calendars. We see them around here all the time, but when hunting season comes, POOF! they're gone. Seriously, I do think they're smarter than we give them credit for. I'm pretty sure those big bucks know when someone is lurking about in their territory and it's amazing how well they can hide - even in just patch of short grass. Could be, Sour, that your buck doesn't know the people that are hunting so stays clear, (or he DOES know their smell and stays clear), Wild deer are, after all, wary of humans by nature.

 

[microchick]

As for bucks and their ability to hide and disappear. A neighbor once told me that he was out hunting in their timber and watched a buck approach a thicket of wild berry bushes. A big tangle of nasty thorns that no human could penetrate. The buck looked around, found a small opening and worked his way into it. By the time he was gone from sight he was in the middle of the thicket with only the tops of his antlers in view. Then he ducked down and disappeared from sight completely.

Personally I had a buck run in front of me while out cycling one day. Corn was about hip high at the time. I watched him run into the corn field, stop, turn around to look at me and then quickly dropped to the ground completely disappearing in the corn.

They do know how to disappear when they have to or want to. So does that mean that they are capable of learning through observing other deer? That deer knew that he had a better chance of evading humans by simply laying down in hip high corn. If he had kept running, for all he knew, I was about to pull a rifle out of my bike bag and blast him straight to freezer camp.

Or is it instinct. Run, hide, live?

Maybe the Beagle Club buck has figured out where he is safe, who is safe and is comfortable with it.

What would be interesting is to show up at the club with a hunting rifle and walk towards the buck so that he sees that you are bearing a weapon and then see what his reaction towards humans is.

 

[sourland]

I have walked up on any number of deer after a fresh snow. I think that the snow muffles your approach. Generally they stretch out their necks and play ostrich. If you slowly walk by, they quietly get up and slink away. Two years ago when I walked up on him all I heard was a snort that made me stop. He then snorted again and was in the brush about 20' away from me laying down but with his head in the air staring intently at me. Upon the third snort I mentally said, "I am out of here". Today I happened upon him, and again he was intently watching me. We had a 30 second 'standoff', and then he got up and trotted off fairly nonchalantly .

 

[drumstick diva]

Maybe he is checking you out Sour. He figures when you get brave enough to get closer, he'll pull out an AK7 and blast you. Don't trust wild animals.