Sorry for the long post.
This afternoon I was out doing some midday/midseason scouting looking for a primary scrape area that had shifted from last year. I located a nice scrape in a 10 meter diameter clearing amidst some dense cover (licking branch, urine smell and everything). I am standing in the clearing looking around for a tree for my ambush saddle and I notice a large bodied deer walking towards me. I take a knee, knock an arrow and hook up the release. As the deer steps into view, I can see it’s a large bodied, mature doe. Her head is down towards the ground, her ears are folded back and I can see her sides heaving as she pants. Her mouth is gaping open and she pays me no mind as she stops broadside about 15 yards away. I can plainly see her eye so I know she can see me as come to full draw but still pays me no mind. Her legs are widely braced, her head is nearly touching the ground and her mouth is hanging open as she gasps for breath. She was obviously physically distressed. This area is heavily bow hunted and boasts a dense deer population.
I shot her straight through both lungs. Then, she slowly stumbled about 5 steps, braced her legs widely and stood in plain view for about 20 seconds before collapsing. I was pretty sure she was dead but I backed off for half an hour to be sure. The whole time I’m thinking this is the oddest things I have seen in 30 years of deer hunting.
Returning the site, I found her expired and covered in flies with the highest concentration around her anus and my wound. Her upper abdomen was about twice the normal size. I thought this was odd to because it’s pretty cool here (60 deg F) and it had only been 30 minutes. All of the fawns that I have seen here have been born and lost their spots so I don’t think labor/delivery is the answer to this deer mystery.
I won’t feed this deer to my family so don’t waste time posting that suggestion but has anyone seen this?