Last week we spent a few days camping and exploring Utah’s west desert. A herd of Mule Deer composed of over a dozen animals hung around the general vicinity of our campsite for most of the time we were there. They still had most of their winter coat so they were scruffy and sun-bleached but they displayed a couple of interesting behaviors that I was able to photograph. These are not great images but I simply can’t resist photographing behaviors, from birds or mammals or whatever…
This area at the base of one of the desert “island mountain ranges” of northwest Utah is littered with old fences in disrepair that must be negotiated by the deer so they have to jump fences often and they’re very good at it. The jumps are graceful and they seem to hang in the air as they float over the fence.
Usually the jumps begin from a standing start. The deer seem to study the obstacle for a moment and then effortlessly pop over the fence. These first three images are one deer, one jump.
Here it looks like the hind feet might not clear the highest wire. Occasionally that happens and it’s not unheard of to find a dead dear hanging down from the upper wire with its hind legs entangled in the top two strands.
But they seem to have an excellent sense of where their hind feet are and the deer tucks them up at just the right moment to clear the wire.
Exactly an hour later as we were nearing our campsite (a remote area of dispersed campsites often used by hunters in the fall) we noticed the same herd near my camping trailer so we stopped to watch them for a few minutes. At first they were relaxed and browsing contentedly but soon one of the deer approached my pickup and exhibited some interesting behavior which was obviously directed at us in my pickup. Her walking gait was exaggerated and slightly jerky. She would hold alternate feet in the air, then put them down and do the same with the other two feet as she slowly walked toward us.
Here she is still approaching my pickup as she holds the other two feet up. Her motion usually didn’t completely stop during the process but it slowed significantly as her alternate feet reached their highest position.
But as she turned to the side she did hold this position for a very short time…
and then once again she switched to the alternate feet (here you can see one of the several old fire pits in the area in front of her).
But then she apparently decided that we were not a significant threat and returned to the herd (I believe she’s the second animal from the left in this photo). This shot was taken at 180mm and cropped very little so you can see that we were quite close to the herd.
I suspect that this was some sort of warning or threat display but I’m relatively unfamiliar with Mule Deer behaviors so I don’t know for sure. If any of you have any insight into this behavior I’d appreciate hearing about it.
Ron
There are many videos on youtube of deer attacking people. They seem to use thier front legs to throw mutiple “stabbing kicks” that are then followed by head butts. I’m no expert, but it seem consistant with the many species of deer shown. I’m guessing your deer was just showing you his willingness to fight, maybe to scare you off?
Tim
As a little kid (60+ years ago, just so you understand the pre-Disneytimes) I spent quite a bit of time with a friend whose father was a huntin’ shootin’ fishin’ neighbour.
He’d take us trout fishing, rabbiting, berry-foraging, etc. But never pig-hunting or deer-stalking, because of the possibility of an animal suddenly turning on us. It is always well to remember that even animals domesticated over many years of selective breeding still retain their primal urges.Had you not been in the truck there may have been a different outcome, especially as she was in a herd.Alpha female, perhaps?
These are beautiful; I love the jumping sequence.
Thank you, Maria.
There was a story in Reader’s Digest about a mule dear attacking a women in Idaho, a buck as I recall and it took two people to fight him off of her! Your pictures were amazing, they seemed to be sailing over those fences and tucking their hind hooves very high to avoid getting tangled up which would lead to a horrible death. The dance was fasinating to see but did not look particularly friendly or inquisitive, I will be interested to read whether or not others have seen this. Wow Ron.
Janice, I too will be interested to see if anyone can give us a little insight into this behavior. Regarding deer caught in fences, it can sometimes be pretty gruesome – simply an awful way to go.
thanks for sharing these behaviours-always thought of deer as passive until I saw the news where they attacked viewers at a steeplechase event They are so graceful as they seemingly jump over a fence without effort.
Jane, I’ve seen clips where deer are acting aggressively, too. A few of them are pretty scary.
Great shots Ron! I have to admit, to my knowledge, I have never seen a Mule Deer, unless it was unknowingly from a distance. The pictures one sees in books really don’t give a true indication of the animals behavior or state of their living conditions. These images of their behavior and scruffy coat coming off winter are wonderful. Much appreciate sharing these shots.
Thanks very much, Dick.