ORIGINAL: psebwhntr16
ORIGINAL: djschuett
ORIGINAL: Splitear_Leland
I always fuigured blood loss caused them to dehydrate, making them thirsty. I have shot 4 deer that have died right next to a small pond after going for three or four hundred yards.
No way, the physiologic mechanism responsible for thirst does not kick in when there is blood loss due to trauma, at least not right away.
Yes it does, its called hypovolemic shock.
While I'll agree, their initial response ISN'T going to be geared towards thirst, I believe if they are not killed in short order (all but 2 of the deer I've killed died within 15 or so seconds, therefore it's not something I've had to deal with much), but if they do live for a spell longer, I think 2 things come into play. First, WATER is usually DOWNHILL, which makes for an easier "escape," though they are not really going to escape, just like us, they will take the path of least resistance. Pull a hamstring, and are you gonna want to climb a mountain, or head for the vallley and follow the easy terrain out??? But secondly, if they do live longer than a few minutes, then YES, hypovolemic shock will set in and they will go for water due to their body telling them they are thirsty. That being said, I've seen wounded deer take to the hills on a couple occasions, but I believe they were only mild flesh wounds, due to the fact that I've been on a couple nearly mile long track jobs, and if the deer is still going after that long, many times you'll never find it. Just my $.02 though....