do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Is it true? Is it that water and good cover go together? How many deer that you wounded but were able to go a distance actually headed to water? How many died in the water? How many didnt head to water?

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

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.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I heard it's true when gut shot,something about they start running ahi temp.I'd like to know if it's fact or fiction also.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Ive heard that too. Dont know if its Fact of Fiction though.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Some do, some don't. That's what I have found.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Exactly.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Yes Sir Mr. Magic, see picture of the 6 point I arrowed

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

come on ed, anyone can clearly see he's just going for a quick swim!:D

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

ive had it happen... ive had 2 die in a creek,,,,, seen other on there way there jus didnt make it all the way

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

in some experiences ive had yes, and some no

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I believe this to be true from personal experience.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I've always heard this, but have no reason to believe is is true across the board.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Although I have never personally experienced this, I certainly believe it happens in enough situations to make it a valid theory. I hunt no where near water and have only gutshot a minimal amount of deer, so it's never come into play for me.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

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.

My theory based on 4 years of college biology classes is that most of their natural predators, i.e. wolves and coyotes can't swim as well as they can and even if they could they can't kill and swim at the same time.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I immediately start marinading my deer upon lethal contact with my broad head

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

IMO Its not a guaranteed thing.Maybe just a good starting pointfor thatparticular circumstance. The buck I gutshot this past November had water all around him and he decided to go 300 yards past it. He died in a thicket. I don't have an explanation either. This buck was not pushed (not by me anyway).

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I have an area that I have shot 3 bucks.There is a pond about 150 yds from my stand an all3 buck died within10 ydsof the pond an were headed towards the pond.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I believe this to be true .... every blood trial that I have followed lead to either a creek , swamp or lake , I have also heard that other deer will nurse the wounded one by packing mud onto the injury.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Not always. Just like they'll sometimes go up hill when hit vitally too. They do the opposite a lot more often than these "RULES" people have led you to believe.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Evert deer that I did not see drop, went to the water.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Yes it does, its called hypovolemic shock.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I had one practically hide in the creek while tracking his blood trail. I walked past the spot where I eventually found him several times. Either he drug himself out or something pulled him out because when I found him there was nothing left but hide, blood, ribcage and his rack. It was less than 14 hours...overnight that he was there.

I hunt near a river and several creeks. Ive shot and had to go to the other side of a river to retrieve him. I always believed that it was a soothing thing, not thirst

I have found several deer floating in the creek from hunters in the hunt club that failed to retrieve them.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I have found deer dead in creeks after winter has pasted. Last year I bow killed a muley and left the area for awhile and came back to find him in the creek. He layed down and then moved to the creek. It's the only times I've seen it happen.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I read somewhere, and I'm pretty sure it was here on the HNI forums, that Florida's populationis proof that dying humans also migrate to water.:D:D I thought that was funny....... cold hearted, but funny.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Magic - Great post..I had a discussion similar a few weeks back. The water is a fact. I've had deer die in water many times. If there is no water around I find that they will dive off the deer run under a fallen tree into the thickest cover around...Water Water Water...they go there if its in the radius in which they die in....They'll go there first if they have the opportunity,

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

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....

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

The wateris just in the way of where they are running leading to "the run to water theory" ;)

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

so far i have had only one die in the water, she swam out in the middle of a pond before dying [:@]I had to drag a john boat through the woods and boat her out [:o]

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Have to go along with the water theory. The 8 point I arrowed last season was headed to a pond (and fortunately my truck) and a couple years ago10 pointer that was actually shot by two different hunters was found lying next to another pond on the same property.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Well most of the deer i shot head back where they came from which is mostly a swampy area, very thick and theres water there. Next year im hunting on a ridge with a swamp on one side and a crick on the other side with thick pines by the crick so most likely that is where they will head but im not sure.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

This is interesting, I have heard of it many times but never whitnessed it in the 30+ recovery operations I have participated in. I lost one deer when he was swept away in a river, but I think he was just trying to cross it judging by his previous behavior and our idiocy in the way we tracked him. Not saying it doesnt happen because I beleive you guys, I just have never whitnessed it. Badly hit deer often move down hill tho, and since water is generally down hill, I guess in a way I see them moving toward water...

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

My own personal experiences seems to be about 50/50. If I lose a blood trail or cant find one etc, I awlays scour the creek, pond or whatever water source is nearby.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Hypovolemic shock does not cause thirst as a primary response to blood loss and definitely not in the initial phase. The primary initial response is stimulation of baroreceptors in the carotid bifurcation region which in turn causes the stimulation of of alpha1 and beta receptors peripherally and in the heart as well as the release of vasopressin (ADH) causing increased vasoconstriction, elevated heart rate, and increased cardiac contraction.

Thirst is not a response to hypovolemic schock, when an animal or human for that matter is in hypovolemic shock without intervention they will die within minutes. Their bodies do not have time to drink water and absorb it through their digestive tract into their bloodstream before they will likely die.

Now if a deer has a slow, non-fatal bleed, over a period of a half hour or more, their hypothalamus (which also controls food intake, body weight and heat regulation among other functions) will cause thirst, but this is not an initial response to blood loss, nor is it a response to hypovolemic shock.

So basically, only if a deer has a non-fatal wound or a slow bleed that will not kill them in the coming half hour or more will they begin to have any sensation of thirst.

If you'd like I can give you citations for this info from my vertebrate biology, vertebrate anatomy and physiology as well as my med school textbooks.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

If you dont mind, what university was this research conducted? Dr. Howard Whiteman (Murray State University) and I actually tested hypovolemic shock in rats last fall. I would like to see some of your work on the subject if you dont mind.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I dont know if they always go to water, but I know my buck that I got in 2006 went right to the river, and I found him the next day on the other side of the rive, still in the water.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

I have beenfortunateenough to be well up in the triple digits in the "recovery department". If I am totally objective I would have to say that the deer purposefully seeking water theoryafter being shot doesn't hold much water :D.

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but way more often then notin my experience it has been a non-factor; even when water was available and the animal was alive a number of hours after impact.

Often times for obvious reasonsthe best cover with be along a river bed, creek or pond. My feeling is that the deer are seeking cover more than water, but because of the proximity of the water source to where we find the animal we conclude they were seeking water.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

So you're saying that rats when facing a life threatening blood loss ran to their water bottle?

What exactly was the research you were doing and what were the results?

I haven't done any research in the topic myself, my knowledge comes from multiple textbooks both relating to mammal and specifically human physiology.



Has anyone actually seen an injured deer go to water and drink? I've heard plenty of stories of deer getting into the water such as the pics on here of the dead deer floating in the water, but how many have ever seen a deer wade into the water to drink vs stand on the edge and drink?


I've heard of Dr. Whiteman, isn't his area of expertise and study primarily amphibians?

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

Through the United Blood Tracking organization I have privi to alot of information, and although when hit correctly, deer never have time to seek water but I would never rule it out. I hear story after story of animals found IN water. Of course when the blood tracking dogs are called in, the hunter usually couldn't find the animal (bad hit) (gives the deer time) and the dogs do find them, usually in or around water sources. Don't rule it out.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

the first buck i ever shot, was hit by a gun hunter about 2 miles away. It walked all the way to where i was, which was near a stream with a huge bloddy mess under its stomach, its organs were basiclly dragging on the ground ( deer are STRONG!). Not sure if it was going to drink because ishot before it got to the water, but it was going that direction.

RE: do deer really go to water when they are wounded?
 

i have had3 die in water before