Educated Deer

protected deer

I have seen deer that will walk up and feed from your hands.
This is due to no hunting rules.
Cows are rarely hunted. They will stand and stare at you.
Start shooting at them and they will learn to break and run.
I have seen deer that will get up out of beds right before a timed feeder goes off nearby.
 
I don't know, maybe it is the pressure, but it seems deer are getting more educated all the time. It only makes sense, the dumb ones are getting killed off every year so the more intelligent ones are doing the breeding. About the same way you would breed dogs or cattle to promote change.
 
I don't know, maybe it is the pressure, but it seems deer are getting more educated all the time. It only makes sense, the dumb ones are getting killed off every year so the more intelligent ones are doing the breeding. About the same way you would breed dogs or cattle to promote change.
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If that was the case, they would stop getting hit by cars since only the dumb ones would get hit, not be in the breeding population, and hence not pass on their stupid genes. So every year, less and less deer should be hit because only the cautious surviving deer have survived, right? Yet deer continue to get hit every year.

So why are deer only smarter when it comes to hunters than vehicles?
 
Double Naught Spy

Most of the older deer around here will stand along the road and wait for the cars to go past. A lot of young ones will get hit until they learn and deer chased into traffic usually get hit. Top of the list is why men do stupid things also, the rut. Knock on wood, I have never hit a deer yet, even driving around Bucks county the deer capital of southeast Pennsylvania. I have had two run into the side of my truck and get up and take off. I absolutely know one was being harrassed by snowmobilers. They are really starting to get smart around here.
 
Missouri Deer

Here in Missouri the deer are definitely becoming smarter. I think the Department of Natural Resources are holding classes for the deer and teaching them the new regulations.

We have a point restriction in our county and I swear the deer know it. I was sitting in the blind, waiting and watched a nice size buck walk up to the blind. Although he was huge, he was not legal because of his antlers. He stood right in front of me, looking left, right, up and down. (I think he wanted to show me the regulation that said he was not legal, but could not find his copy of the game laws.)

As I was trying to shoo him away he would snort at me and although I do not understand deer language, I am pretty sure his momma would have been ashamed at the language he was using.

If I looked away from him, he would snort and carry on some more forcing me to look back at him. I later found out this was a ploy he used to try to stop me from looking over my shoulder. My nephew was in a stand on the other side of the field and later told me he saw three big does and a humongous buck walk about 25 yards behind me while I was fooling with that deer.

Once he figured out the other deer had safely made it past me, he slowly sauntered off, swishing his tail and making uncalled for remarks.

Yes, our deer in Missouri are getting smarter, even though they are of low moral character.
 
Most of the older deer around here will stand along the road and wait for the cars to go past. A lot of young ones will get hit until they learn and deer chased into traffic usually get hit.
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I don't follow. If you claim that the dumb deer are getting killed off and only the smart deer are breeding, hence making more intelligent deer that are better at evading hunters, then why can't these more intelligent deer avoid being hit by cars? After all, the dumb ones are getting killed off, right?

You do make a good point, however, the older and more experienced, ergo more conditioned deer are not the ones that tend to get hit by cars. So it isn't a genetics issue, but a life experience conditioning issue.

The same holds for the deer being hunted. The young, inexperienced deer that don't make good choices end up as prey. The deer that grow older usually got that way by making good decisions (and a good bit of luck). They tend to be more wary.
 
The other posts are correct. They pick up on things real fast. You can no doubt see it more into the season. One area may seem that way because of presure etc. Same with the grouse hunting later in the season the birds that been missed will get up faster and farther away. I take great pains trying to post were I will see no one, not saying that is the way to go some presure can also help a bit sometimes.
 
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