Whitetail deer acting goofy
03-15-2012, 05:01 AM
#1
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: northeast kingdom in vermont
Posts: 234
Whitetail deer acting goofy
Can anyone explain this deer springtime behavior?
Last night - just before dark, I saw a fast movement back toward the woods at the edge of a brushy field. It was a small herd of Deer and as best I could tell, they would all suddenly take off running at full speed in one direction and pretty soon - they would all come walking slowly back, with the larger deer curving their tails sharply over their backs and the smaller deer walking along with them. They would then start dashing around in short spurts - (it looked sort of like they were playing - but I was a long ways away, and it was getting pretty dark, so it was hard to tell exactly what they were doing) - after milling around like that for a few minutes - they would all suddenly take off at full speed in the other direction - just like a danger flight. Then pretty soon - here they would all come walking back, doing the same - tail over the back - slow walking thing. This was still going on after dark - the same goofy tearing around. It was a blast watching them do that - my wife and I really enjoyed the show till it got too dark to see, but neither of us had ever seen them act like that before and we were wondering if anyone else had ever seen that and could tell us what was going on?
Thank you in advance,
Last night - just before dark, I saw a fast movement back toward the woods at the edge of a brushy field. It was a small herd of Deer and as best I could tell, they would all suddenly take off running at full speed in one direction and pretty soon - they would all come walking slowly back, with the larger deer curving their tails sharply over their backs and the smaller deer walking along with them. They would then start dashing around in short spurts - (it looked sort of like they were playing - but I was a long ways away, and it was getting pretty dark, so it was hard to tell exactly what they were doing) - after milling around like that for a few minutes - they would all suddenly take off at full speed in the other direction - just like a danger flight. Then pretty soon - here they would all come walking back, doing the same - tail over the back - slow walking thing. This was still going on after dark - the same goofy tearing around. It was a blast watching them do that - my wife and I really enjoyed the show till it got too dark to see, but neither of us had ever seen them act like that before and we were wondering if anyone else had ever seen that and could tell us what was going on?
Thank you in advance,
03-15-2012, 07:24 AM
#4
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: northeast kingdom in vermont
Posts: 234
We did think maybe they were just feeling frisky, being as the snow is finally gone and we have had a few warmish days - some sort of celebration of spring? We feel a little that way ourselves - but can't run that fast any more.
03-15-2012, 07:36 AM
#5
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,520
Probably just playing around. Or maybe there was something out there they were unsure of. Deer play, especially the young ones. They're also very curious. Sound like a fun thing to watch
-Jake
-Jake
03-15-2012, 04:31 PM
#7
Fork Horn
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: northeast kingdom in vermont
Posts: 234
Thanks for the info!
03-27-2012, 02:22 PM
#9
Fork Horn
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: ONTARIO
Posts: 128
They are feeling great and having fun, like a bunch of kids on a sugar rush. They are finally receiving a burst of energy from the more nutritious food that is suddenly available, preferred greens which they have not received in months.
