With another firearms deer hunting season soon to begin in Missouri, I thought I would share a slightly reworked version of an entry in this series that ran many years ago.
It’s basically a few random observations about the star of the season.
Deer are amazingly athletic.
If you’ve ever watched one jump over a five-strand barbed wire fence, you know what I’m referring to. They make it look easy to leap about six feet in the air, often from a standing start.
Can you imagine if people had the same jumping ability? The men’s high jump world record would probably be in the neighborhood of 11 or 12 feet rather than barely over eight feet.
Deer are also capable of changing direction when running at top speed in a way that almost defies the laws of physics. My wife Wendy and I once saw a big buck jump over a fence and come within inches of hitting our car, only to head right back where it came from as if it rotated 180 degrees in midair.
To this day, we still don’t know how that happened, but we enjoy telling the story.
Deer sometimes act strangely.
Despite their reputation for being generally skittish and high-strung, I’ve witnessed deer do some things that might make a person think they can also be sort of lazy and sarcastic.
For example, I have more than once come across multiple deer standing in the middle of the dirt road as I drive away from our house or toward it. You might think they would instinctively scurry away, and sometimes they do, but sometimes they just sort of saunter off to the side and turn their heads toward the vehicle as if to say, “excuuuuse meeee.” Then they just stand there and stare as I drive slowly past.
That definitely displays a lack of fear, but I’d say it also shows a bit of carelessness. Cars and trucks are pretty heavy, and those lifeforms inside them (humans) sometimes wield those dangerous fire sticks (guns).
Deer are often family oriented.
In our neighborhood, it’s not uncommon to see a mom with her kids, and they stick pretty close together. Sometimes dad is even there, but whatever the mix is, it’s easy to tell that there’s plenty of affection and devotion involved.
Deer babies are ultra-cute.
I don’t think there are many folks who would disagree.
Little fawns with spots are about as cute as an animal can get, and that little sound they make is absolutely precious.
And there’s nothing quite like watching a fawn try to run when it has only been able to walk for a day or two.
And when they get to be “teenagers” and have grown a bit, they seem to have such a good time prancing and carrying on. It’s almost like you can hear them giggle as they bounce around.
Deer bucks can be awesome.
I can’t think of a more majestic and dignified member of the animal world than a big, tall, burly buck.
The way they move exudes strength and the look on their faces is one of confidence and assuredness, but not cockiness or arrogance.
I have more than once enjoyed a close-range encounter with a big buck that lasted a fairly long time before the awesome animal became bored with me and moved on.
Very cool.
Deer are just fun to watch.
Whether they’re jumping a fence, nudging a young ’un or running through the woods with their big white tails sticking straight up, deer pretty much always provide a good visual.
In turn, I’m glad there are a bunch of them in these parts.
Happy hunting.