Tuesday, June 25, 2013

I had a stare down with a deer - who do you think won?

female deer in woods
this picture is NOT from my encounter - thanks to my friend Sandy for letting me use it


I had to take my car into the shop the other day (routine oil change, A/C wasn't working)  Where it is located, I can easily walk home in about 20 minutes (25 or so with the boys). To do this, we cut through a VERY well used path in a wooded area. It takes us to the park behind our house and then we are home.



Monday morning, we drop the car off - I put Mr. K in the buggy (which he never uses anymore, but I didn't think he would make it in the heat AND we have to cross a pretty busy street while people were on their way to work, this was MUCH safer).  We headed home.  About 1/3 of the way up the path, we spotted a small deer.  All I could see was it's head through the grass - so we stopped and watched it for a minute.  As we started to walk again, on the OTHER side of the path were 2 large Doe's. Staring at me.  I stopped, and had Mr. J do the same. The doe closest to me (I assume was the mama) and I stared at each other for a minute - and then it walked onto the path and turned STRAIGHT at me.  Staring.  She slowly started walking - so we slowly (very slowly) started to back away.  I should add, at this point the deer was only 6-8 feet from me (would have been a great photo opp - but I was worried about taking any more time than I had to). I know they are generally gentle creatures - but it doesn't matter what type of animal - mama's protect their young and with the fawn on on the other side, I wasn't going anywhere near them. She had no way of knowing I wouldn't harm any of them ( Hubby and I had JUST been talking the day before about deer and how they can charge if they feel threatened - on a bike ride with Mr. J, they encountered a deer that they thought might charge another man on the path with a dog - but it took off into the woods)

When we were about 30 feet away - she started to turn towards the fawn, so I felt comfortable turning my back.  We had to back-track to the main road, and then take another way home - which added about 15 minutes to our trip.  The kids really liked seeing the deer so close, I on the other hand, while they are beautiful, was a little concerned.

Have you ever met a deer up close and personal?

9 comments:

  1. Wow, I love seeing animals in the wild, but deer (especially a doe with a fawn) can definitely be unpredictable. A little too up-close and personal! :)

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    1. thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!

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  2. We have tons of deer around our place so we see them all the time. Yes, they are gentle creatures, but they are WILD creatures and you were wise to play it safe!!! Deer can charge and they have sharp hooves. We always give the deer here lots of space and try to make lots of noise to encourage them to move on (or go around them as you did). :)

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    1. thanks so much for your comment Bonnie! I do so love to watch them, but not quite that closely

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  3. i live in MN, so i know exactly what you are talking about!

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  4. I love deer so much. They are so elegant and graceful. At my lake there is a doe who has triplets. They seem to come around about the same time everyday and I just love watching them.

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    1. thanks for sharing! they are very graceful!

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  5. I definitely think you made the right decision. Deer certainly are beautiful, graceful animals but they are wild, and like you said it's only natural instinct for a Mama to protect their babies :)

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