Memory retention of animals?
 

How long does an animal remmeber stuff? For example, If I walk through a place that is frequented by animals set myself down, how long until the spooked animals return?

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

After the first rain?:)I have seen Deer and Hogs come thru hours after a kill on the same spot. A scent has to be very alarming to them to spook them! JMO

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

scent and being still and quite is the key.Ive had deer come back within 20 mn of me getting into my spot on the ground.But if you spook them bad it could be a day or longer.

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

I was thinking more of movement, assuming I had the scent part covered..

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

Eye's are a big thing too...eye contact is a bad deal.Ive had them very close and if I look away(down) they will stay,but soon as my eye's havemeet thiers,they usealy move on.

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

So from a ground stand/blind perspective..
Say I get some free afternoon time, there is an area where many breeds of animals exist during the day, I come in and they flee.. I set up my blind downwind and wait.. They will come back? I guess I have this notion they will see the blind and remember a person went into it..
So much to learn..

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

David, I know for sure that Deer mark a spot with their Interdigital Glands on their feet to warn other deer as a danger zone.

I personally have never seen the same Deer come by the same location after I have been made, but after an hour or so other's have come by.

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

yep..the more they put out the longer it will be before they come back.I would rather have them whease at me then to scent mark the area.

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

I am glad I started this thread..
I had to Google "Interdigital Glands" just to see if Reb was going totake me for a ride..;)I have never heard of these glands before, and I wouldn't have if it wasn't for this..
Thanks guys, that is some good info. Definitely something I need to look deeper into.

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

I just refer to it as the bad scent gland....dont like big words.
So now you know.Your smarter now then you were a hour ago.;).

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

Way smarter..:)
So, how often do they use these things? I can understand it would be a constant odor, but just how bad do you have to pi$$ one off to really make a difference?

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

if they just get a wif of something not right they will normaly just give a huff/whease sound and be off and will come back if its thier travel area.But if thier tail goes up and they bolt out thats when they will realy scent a area to warn others not to come into the area.
if they lift thier tail huf/whease alittle they normally dont scent out the area.
They have to feel a threat......

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

I have had does walk by, give me the head bob, and give me the flag and run off, only to come back by for the evening hunt. I had a buck come in close, but then I moved to fast and he made me, stomped and bolted. Two days later he comes out of woods about 150 yards away and I hit the can call and he stops and comes right in, but as he comes in there is a tree right between us, but I think no big deal, when he gets close he will pass it, tree is about fifteen yards away. He gets right in front of tree about five feet out, stops and actually looks around tree with his head and looks right up at me!!! Snorts and bolts the opposite direction. He remembered me! But a week later he must have forgot be cause he came right in to the same call and I shot him!:D

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

David, most of the time whena Deer spots you on Standand makes you out, his tail will go up and makes a turn around in a flash and bolts.

Now, when itlooks up andspots something in the tree which it can't identify (You In Total Camouflage, Face And All and No movement whatsoever) It will stand there and stump its foot and moving it's head tryingto identify it. Well, his stumping of the foot is putting out an Interdigital Scent on the spot.

Deer are very inquisative(sp). I have been taking a crap with the rifle leaning against the tree and Deer have come up to investigatemy wonderful aroma.:DNo Lie!!!

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

when a buck "makes you"....he generally does'nt come back. when an old doe "makes you" she'll warn every deer in the area. can ruin a good stand for the entire season. hehe.[8D]

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

Animal memory is surpisingly poor. Conditioning however is different. Many will argue or doubt it but even dogs that have lived with a family for years will have their memories fade away but possibly not completely. My best dog was with me for a year and went away for six weeks for training. When I went to pick him up he did not recognize me visually. I walked right by him and the rat just glanced at me. But a few minutes after he got my scent he started to sniff the air and in about five minutes he remembered and jumped all over me! Some things condition animals quickly like fear, so if you hit a deer and he gets way they'll remember quickly. If you leave your scent for them to smell once they don't seem too worried. But if you visit them over a few days they seem to avoid that area. I can only guess that they figure a predator is lurking and hunting for them. They also may visit the area much later (like in the evening) when they can no longer pick up your sent. I think that is what makes deer nocturnal more than anything else. How long before they return? They may return right away to see if they can figure out what you are. Once they have figured you out they have started to patterned you before you patterned them! The more you let on about yourself the more you educate them, the more you condition them. Conditioning is realitively permanent. The more the scarely the education the faster and better they remember.

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

So, when the shot-gunners push through the bush on a controlled hunt it screws my chances for the rest of the season? I was hoping things would just go back to normal once they left.. If they weren't trespassing I wouldn't be so concerned..

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

It depends, there was a guy who hunted the same stand every day at my friends place it got so we sat and watched the deer sneak in and look to see if he was there. I think it was because he shot at a lot of them and missed them he was a sad sack. Lee

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

Another thing pydpiper, I used to raise whitetails for over a dozen years and I learned first hand that each deer is an indivisual. Like people, some are smarter than other, some are more wary than other, and some are just plain dumb! Some deer will spook easily while others will torerate amost anything. I truly believe that pressure is theone bad thing that will effect your stand area. Little pressure, lots of deer. Human sightings and scent are secondary at my stand location because the pressure they recieve is very little and I do ALWAYS stay outta their santuary area at all cost. I have gone in there only once to retrieve a downed buck but I waited until 9:30 PM to do it and I got outta there as quickly as possible. Don't worry about running deer outta your stand area when you go in. You can't do anything about it then anyway. They will be back if you are still and quite and get you mind back on the beauty of nature. Thisis my learned opinion from many years of being around the wonderfully unpredictable Whitetail Deer. Hope this helps ya.
BBO

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

I agre with Buddy. But there is one thing you can do. That is to lower the impact you have for that area you are watching. Reduce the amount of scent you leave when going in and out and keep a low profile by going in where they do not (don't walk along their trail and keep as scent free as possible), go in when they aren't around and cannot see you, keep quiet etc.
I doubt that one pass by a shotgunner is going to boot them out but it may boot some out. That years deer is going to take more than a 6 year old buck. One things for sure they won't hang out where you park your vehicle because of the noise and scent you leave. They say that there are many bucks in the woods that have seen man but have never been seen by human eyes. I believe that to be true. One push and the odd old wise surviving buck is probably gone from your grasp because it either goes somewhere else or it will turn nocturnal.
As Buddy said, stay out of thier sancutary or bedroom and you can milk the area like a cow. No question that some are better survivors than the others. Wheather or not its is intellegence or just better programing is something we'll never know. Its like waterfowl hunting. We never hunt their pond/bedroom until the few days. The last few hunts are a slaughter but they repopluate the pond next year. Maybe not all of them come back but the same numbers do.

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

Thanks guys.. This is the stuff you learn from experience, and I have next to none of that..
I take scent seriously, I go through quite a ritual before heading out, right down to the scent of my foot prints.
Today I noticed there are a bunch more little does than there have been in the past, in odd spots too. I always walk their paths to and from the bush, guess I shouldn't be doing that.. It has not changed their habits yet (I do this almost daily) but it may backfire on me when it really counts.

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

David, there are no hard and fast rules. There are generalities to follow like scent control but there are always exceptions. As Buddy said, deer have personalities and are different like people are. Their personality is yet another variable factor in hunting but one that is difficut to nail down. To beat a deer at the survival game you have figured that out or you are lucky. I'd rather be lucky!

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

The more knowledge I have the less mistakes (dumb mistakes) I am liable to make, or so I hope.

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

Buddy,we have awoman that raisesDeer about 3 miles from me and I visither Deer farm quite often. She will call me when she has collected fresh Estrus Doe Pee.

Here in FL we cannot keep Native Deer in captivity, they have to be Out of State and you need a Special Permit from the State and the Conservation Officers do come around periodically for inspection.

You are right, Deer do have personalities and act different in different occasions. By observing them on the farm,I have noticed that some Deer act differently at times. Some Deer can be hand fed and some will wait to you leave or are a good distance from them.

Barbra does not let anyone in the compound cause they are very unpredictable on behavior. You never know what they are going to do next!

Now, many will tell you that's not true because they have known peolpe that have raised Fawns and have seen videos of perfectly trained Deer! My answer to them, To Each His Own!:)

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

Your right Reb. Unless we can figure out how to talk to deer we'll never know. Otherwise it is just a matter of opinion or assumption. It is important that hunters know this (matter of opinion). With deer, nothing is written in stone and there are always exceptions to a "rule".

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

To many videos on the net of people taking a beating for me to ever desire getting into a pen with them!!!

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

James, go to theVideos & PhotoragphyCams or Deer Forum and see the Videos this one guy has posted of how tame his Deer are!:)

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

Hog, here in NC we could only keep native deer to our area and with a purchased license as well with yearly inspections. I would always hand feed my doe fawns after three days with their mothers,as I wanted them to be tame but the bucks were allowed to be feed by their mothers and therefore keep mostly wild. But, I'm saying all this to say just this: No matter if you hand raise a fawn, it is such an indivisual, that not all doe fawns would tame up. As soon as they were fed, they'd run off and not let you handle them or touch them at all! Most fawns would however and become your child so to speak. (it was a very interesting dozen years raising these deer, and I wouldn't take a million dollars for the experience I had doing it)
BBO
(and yes, I named all my deer to suit their disposition)

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

could'nt agree more reb. like any other animal, the one constant is they all are unpredictable. hehe.:)

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

Buddy, I'min agreement with you not against you!:)

RE: Memory retention of animals?
 

Oh, I know that hog. LOL
BBO