Do deer have a memory?
 

I figure that they must remember some things - like where to eat and where to sleep. They are creatures of habit. However, this year I shot a doe with my bow in the presence of about 6 (or more) other deer. One of them was less than 30 yards away and watched me shoot. I am sure a few of them watched/saw me dragging out my harvest, too.
I drove by the spot the next day and there were four does munching on the grass. I stopped and took several pictures of them and they did not spook. The following picture is from about 65 yards away. Sorry about the quality, but I can only upload 30 k pics that start off at about 1.5 MB.



I dragged my deer out past the bush on the left. I shot it there and it ran about 25 yards (just into the bush). Why are the deer there? Why are they not scared? There was a good trail of blood from me dragging it out.

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

Yes, they definitely do have memories. Deer learn can learn by association (example:gunshot = threat, something along those lines) They can learn by association because they have memories.

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

I have been to hunting camps where when in a popular stand the deer come out and look at the stand. If they see something there, bam, they are gone. They must remember another deer or many others being killed from that stand.

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

So, are these deer unusually stupid? I was driving the same car the day prior. They watched me get out, wrestle my bow from the trunk, walk into the field, kneel down and shoot one of their sisters. I was wearing street clothes and smelling of cologne. Then they watched me load it onto my trunk in the same spot I took the last picture from.

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

Nice doe. Good shot!! They must really want to be in that spot bad. Or of course they are not very bright. I try not to hunt an area more than twice in one week let alone shooting and gutting and dragging in front of them and have them be there the next day. A little odd but I've seen it as well.

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

i think the can think oh a man, out of 300 times a year that he comes here nothing bad goes on, and so they have no need to fear you --if you are out their a lot--

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

I was wondering that too. I was hunting last night and when I came out there were four deer stand by my truck. Eventually they spooke and ran across the road to a small patch of timber. Will they now know to associate the truck being there with me hunting them? I know in other spots I've hunted we parked a half mile away instead of in the lane that ends 50 yards from a stand we have. By doing that my buddy saw a monster out of that stand and together we saw more deer that day than we ever have before including 3 wall hangers. I think they've figured out that if a vehicle come down that lane then there will be someone in there after them.

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

I have seen it all now, a deer strapped on a trunk of a car!!!!

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

Yes I do think deer have memory I spent a week in a hunting area and saw the same does everyday and on the first day they would run by the last day they would look at me then just carry on with what they were doing.

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

i believe they have a memory heres my observation, i have a permanint stand i built about 20 years ago .through the years i noticed their pattern changing they always end up in the same place, they just skirt the area i can cover now . and i know they arent winding me or sensing me in any way. i believe they not only are wary of this area they are passing it to thier offspring through the years i have taken many deer out of this stand . i believe they associate that area of the woods as dangerous ! and right they are for 3 weeks in november .

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

I believe deer do have a memory. I also believe the bigger they are the better it is.:D Seriously, if they didn't, why would they spook when they smell a human? Why would they not spook as easily when they inhabit an area close to houses? How do they know that a penned dog is not a threat? And so on and so forth. Deer will pattern hunters as well. How many times have you been out riding the day after season goes out only to see a really good buck in the middle of a field. This means they have a subscription to the local DNR rule book.

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

I think deer have a memory to a certain extent. However, a lot of you are giving them more human-thinking qualities than they have. Remember, they are an animal. Smart enough to learn new things but really don't have the intelligence to think too much beyond basic survival. They have built in survival instincts as we all know - hence the blow and go after they scent us. They can certainly get used to human scent and noise to a certain degree but to remember your cologne scent or see your car and associate it with killing is a stretch I belive.

Deer are kind of funny though, let me add this: I hunt a woods behind a horse barn. The deer are well used to human scent and noise from the barn. I've even seen a trophy 10 pt listen to people clang a gate and smell them 200 yards away. That's close but it didn't bother them. Let me also say that as soon as the buck got a little more down wind of me, the human scent was a little too close for comfort and he quietly and quickly hauled his rack out of there. So, do they process things in their brain saying, "the guy at the barn is beyond the safety zone so I'm fine, but the dude in the tree there 45 yards away is not cool." I don't think so.

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

I have been in a stand many times watching deer and heard a shot very close, and never saw a deer even flinch. But make a little metalic clink and they're outta there. That always kind of fascinated me.

RE: Do deer have a memory?
 

I heard once that when a deer is spooked it will run for about 20 seconds then forget what its running for. You may find this hard to beleive, but if you think about how fast a deer can move and jump things me and you have to crawl under, a deer could get pretty far in 20 seconds. Now obviously, if you follow the deer and continue to spook it, or a dog is on its trail, it will be very aware and run for miles..