deer behavior

[MBlanchrd <MBlanchrd@aol.com>]

Hi, all,

  I hope nobody gets too upset when I open my big mouth and say something,
but.........Teddy mentioned being attacked by an elk in rut. At risk of
inciting wrath of yet ANOTHER non riding thread,  I'd like to make some
suggestions on  how to handle such a situation. We will see deer in the
woods......

First off, any zookeeper will tell you that the most dangerous animals in the
zoo are NOT the predators, but the ungulates (deer, antelope, etc.) Why?
because one, we automatically assume lions and tigers and bears (oh my) to be
dangerous and therefore are wary. We can usually read the body language of a
predator easily..perhaps because we were once prey ourselves at one time???

 Secondly, the ungulates have a far different way of communicating than
predators, horses, birds, etc.

If you ever run into a bull elk or a buck deer, there are several ways to know
that he's in rut. Deer will usually have a very swollen neck. Bull elk don't
usually swell at the neck, but boy howdy do they smell. They will look be wet
looking because part of the rutting behavior in elk consists of the bull
urinating all over his belly and front legs. You can smell them. Really. (so
will your horse...). If the elk bugles at you your blood will tingle..... One
of the most incredibly wonderful sounds is the bugle of a bull elk, but if
he's bugling at YOU he either considers you or your horse a cow elk or a rival
bull. EIther proposition won't be to your liking ............... try
explaining that you are now a member of a bull's harem.......... ;-). 

Bull moose...in fact moose in general can be dangerous, but bull moose won't
say much. However, if bow their heads and sway their antlers at you you are
being considered a rival and had better leave in a hurry.

WHat to do? Well, first, don't make eye contact with the animal. THis is hard
for us to do, but staring at any animal is considered a threat. If by some
chance you do make solid eye contact, and he looks HARD at you.....DON"T DROP
THE CONTACT. ESPECIALLY with elk, don't drop that eye contact. Soften your eye
as much as you can, but if you drop the eye contact he will take it as a
signal of weakness and may charge. 

Say something to him...talk, yell, whatever to him and try to back up as far
as you can. After a certain distance he will probably let up on you. Then
again, he may just charge you anyway, and then hope to god you have a tree
nearby. Or run...I don't guarantee you can outrun him, but running away is
generally the signal for male deer that you don't want to fight. If he knocks
you down, do your damndest to get up anyway..the signal for "I give up" is NOT
laying down and pretending you are dead for the deer tribe. And those antlers
can kill you................

I cannot say what to do in case you are horseback..I don't know if they'll go
for your horse or for you. Deer (this means all of the deer species, not just
muleys and white tails) in rut are testosterone crazed and can't be depended
on to do anything logical or sensible. When I was a kid my grandpa told me
about a buck who attacked his image in the storefront window of my uncle's
barbershop............

The experience I have had, though, is that the deer tribe usually ignore you
if you are horseback. I have been no more than ten feet from deer while
riding, and they don't seem to notice that wierd looking growth atop the
horse.

But mostly, enjoy the incredible beauty of them... nothing says wilderness to
me more than the bugling of a wapiti.......long may they reign!!!
Michelle