RE: Nature or us? Who's our worst enemy?
Out where I live there are very few deer hit by cars but other hunters are an entirely different story. Also, it is difficult for a deer to survive to 5.5 without any human interaction just because of infection and disease and starvation in the winter (not a problem where you are I venture) and coyotes and dogs you get the idea. My dad shot a 4.5 year old 2 years ago. While cheking the jaw to age him we noticed that he had an infected tooth that was really bad and the infection had spread to his jaw bone. My father is a physician, and he told me that the buck would not have survived another year b/c once an infection gets into the bones you are a goner even with modern medicine. That same year we found a buck skull where the cause of death seemed to be the same thing; a tooth infection that spread to the jaw bone. Rough life man. I do not envy them.