Home on the Range
On Wednesday evening, there was a deer in the backyard. Her mother was in the neighbor’s yard. I took some photos from a distance, then the deer got up. I was able to amazingly close to the deer, but I didn’t get too close. I wasn’t sure whether the deer would just run or behave dangerously. So, I kept a reasonable distance.
They normally don’t spend this much time out in the yard. They were there for two or three hours before they finally headed home. We’ve had over 45 days of 90°+ temperatures and barely any rain. So, most vegetatian is dried up, so I’m sure the deer are out beyond their normal range to look for food.
Actually, it’s not uncommon for deer, but usually they’re not so desperate for food. On my mother’s suggestion, I tossed the deer an apple. She smelled it, but didn’t eat it.
She went for the squirrel feeder, but it was too high for her. I had another corn block for the squirrel feeder, so I grabbed that and went outside and rolled it to her. She smelled it and licked it a few times, but that was about it.
I did shoo her away from some of my young bushes–they are suffering enough as it is. I let her eat the tomatos off the tomato plants on the back porch (container garden).
When the dog ran to the screen door, the deer got a little testy. The dog barked, the fawn stomped her front feet–each foot once. I was concerned the deer would charge the house, so I closed the door. The deer and dog had a staring contest for a while, and the deer stomped her foot again. According to some websites, foot stomping is either used to warn other deer of danger or to mark territory. Not sure whether this fawn was male or female (though I have used “she” to describe her), so hard to tell what this fawn was trying to say. Maybe she wasn’t intimidated by the chihuahua.
Eventually, mom came over, and they both went further into the backyard. The fawn still nursed from the mother. They went by the shed and ate some leaves from the bushes there, then wandered to the next yard, heading back home to the park.
Must had been a great experience! I wonder if I would have touched the deer and perhaps ride it =).
It may have been possible to pet it, but they were too skittish to even attempt to ride! Plus, not large enough either. Of course, that’s not something that ever occurred to me either. Now, pulling a sleigh, maybe…
I was also cautious about getting too close out of concern too that I don’t want to encourage them not to be afraid of humans. It was pretty amazing how close I was able to get, and get photos, and the fawn didn’t seem to mind too much. The mother was in the neighbor’s fenced-in yard, so I didn’t get close to her at all.
The key is that this is a wild animal and potentially dangerous. Several years ago, a deer got into a sandwich shop in a town near where we live. Not being able to figure out how to get out, it panicked and busted up display cases and windows before it finally escaped.
On this trip, we’ve seen well in excess of 100 deer, including one resting under a trampoline yesterday. I posted a photo of it yesterday (September 13) on my Haw Creek Out ‘n About blog.
That’s exactly the situation that was going through my mind when the dog and the deer were having their face-off through the screen door. It’s like, don’t make the deer mad, little doggy. You won’t like her when she gets angry!