IF you don't believe me then you could be in danger the next time you face off with a deer with one or two babies in tow.
My wife and I often feed the deer in the green belt next to the house. So, over the years we have gotten to know at least 4 generations of deer. The grandmama of them all died sometime during the last year or so because she isn't around anymore. Sometimes, mountain lions have found them and they scatter by jumping over our 7 foot high fences made of redwood and sometimes cedar stakes nailed onto 4 by 4 inch posts set into the ground. So, whenever a mountain lion shows up the deer jump into our yards and then run through our back yard and over the fence to our neighbors back yard. An adult deer (depending upon it's size can jump at least 7 to 10 feet or more feet high and clear it. However, the very tops of the fences to our yard have a couple of stakes broken off from the rear hooves of deer running away from mountain lions from the green belt over the years. I'm thinking a mountain lion would have more trouble jumping fences than deer would which is why this route is effective in escaping a mountain lion for them over the years. Or maybe a better way to say this is mountain lions conserve their energy more than deer do in an emergency. Deer are more like rabbits in their escapes.
Because we have known these deer for many years they sort of put up with our dog as long as the dog is on a leash. But, recently there were two newborn fauns and I just decided to not freak out the new mother and I picked up our corgi so the new mother wouldn't injure our corgi by "accident".
The deer know to stay out of our yard (except in extreme emergencies) because our dog might be there. So, we have this interesting relationship with now 4 generations of deer, mostly females. We find the males can be a problem when they grow up having been fed by us because they are more forward and more demanding and less respectful. So, we have to be careful with this.
I think one male even got mad at my truck and walked up to it and stamped on the cement hard in our driveway. I was amazed when I came across it later because the stamp he made broke the cement in a pattern of his hoof he stamped. Plus these hooves are razor sharp (and so are the horns) so to not be respectful of mother deer or bucks with horns is just to be really really stupid and often injured.
But, because adult people are usually smart they aren't the ones who get injured. the most common things that get injured are dogs who underestimate the wildness of male and female deer. I watched a dog with it's skin from around it's heart area dragging along the ground because it took on a buck deer with antlers. I'm not sure the dog survived or not but I think it was a black labrador around that size of dog with his female maybe 13 year old owner crying along behind him thinking he would die and it would be her fault for allowing this to happen.
So, one last thing. I remember walking without a flashlight with two of our dogs (now past away) from old age. But, they started barking and I turned my flashlight on only to see a magnificent buck cornered against a fence. I thought the dogs and I would get injured or maybe even die because it was night. But, instead, the buck jumped right over my head from a standing start. I was pretty impressed at this because I'm basically 6 foot 5 inches tall. He just jumped over us while his back was against the fence. Ever since this moment I don't underestimate what deer or bucks can do and I give them room to breathe.
These are wild creatures and you only underestimate them at your peril (or your dog's peril).
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