The Strangest, most fascinating thing you've seen deer do
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:55 am
There was a time, many years ago, when because I was caught up with the hunt and not thinking, or being sensitive. I shot a doe, not even realizing that she was the mother of twins following behind her. When she dropped I was saddened to see both of her young just stand there and stare down at her. One was much smaller, maybe like a runt and the other was quite a bit larger. This tugged on my heart and made me wish I'd not been so hasty and looked at the whole picture before harvesting a doe for the meat. They would nudge her, and I had to wonder what they might have known or sensed. This was one of those times when the reality of what we do catches up with you.
We were about 70 yards up on the side of a hill with a clearing at the bottom. in the clearing were half a dozen more deer. After a few minutes of this agony for myself and the futile attempts by the two orphans to get their mother to get up, I observed a young basket rack buck come up the hill to the two young ones. The wind was in my favor as I was up a tree in a home made portable ladder stand. I could see the older deer seem to asses the situation for a few moments and then he led the two down the hill to the rest of the small herd of deer.
As I watched this, I had to wonder at the depth of nature that we never truly perceive. What was going on in the life of those deer. How quickly the young buck seemed to asses the situation and lead the orphans down into the herd to join the others. We wonder how they perceive death; how and why that buck would even walk up the side of that hill. What did he know? What was he led by? Was God teaching me a lesson through this young buck (I still had a buck tag with me, but he was the last one on Earth I could have shot).
Then when they joined the others, they all left the clearing and the story wasn't over. I got down when they were out of sight to field dress the doe. About the time I was almost done, I look up higher on the hill above me and there they all are, watching and then snorting at me. I don't know if I've ever felt worse about shooting a deer in all my days in the field.
We were about 70 yards up on the side of a hill with a clearing at the bottom. in the clearing were half a dozen more deer. After a few minutes of this agony for myself and the futile attempts by the two orphans to get their mother to get up, I observed a young basket rack buck come up the hill to the two young ones. The wind was in my favor as I was up a tree in a home made portable ladder stand. I could see the older deer seem to asses the situation for a few moments and then he led the two down the hill to the rest of the small herd of deer.
As I watched this, I had to wonder at the depth of nature that we never truly perceive. What was going on in the life of those deer. How quickly the young buck seemed to asses the situation and lead the orphans down into the herd to join the others. We wonder how they perceive death; how and why that buck would even walk up the side of that hill. What did he know? What was he led by? Was God teaching me a lesson through this young buck (I still had a buck tag with me, but he was the last one on Earth I could have shot).
Then when they joined the others, they all left the clearing and the story wasn't over. I got down when they were out of sight to field dress the doe. About the time I was almost done, I look up higher on the hill above me and there they all are, watching and then snorting at me. I don't know if I've ever felt worse about shooting a deer in all my days in the field.