I have shot one deer to only to have another deer come over and be like "yo dude get up we need to go....I just heard a loud noise"...then he gets shot too.

Not sure what they think, or if they do.

 

I have done the same thing. Popped one in the neck, the next in the head. Load em up.

 

Interesting thought. And yes I have wondered it also. I guess we spend to much time in a stand

 

I hope they don't think that! Otherwise I'm gonna start feeling real guilty.

 

Yes they do. And I have fed deer and they are very smart. I can call them by name and they come out of the woods to me. And they are beautiful I actually have a pic of a deer eating a carrot from my mouth. And she is so sweet and she trusted me. And then her babies started to trust me.

 

Yeah I have shot a doe and had the other deer with it bleat and kinda paw at the dead animal. I dunno -- I think about this alot. Thanks for your replies.

 

i don't think the brain is developed enough for all that... sometimes i have wondered the same thing tho

 

I like this response...:thumb:

 

Buck 1: Lets go get some corn
Buck 2:I think we should wait until dark
Buck 1:Fine you stay here I'm going now
BANG
Buck 2: Told you so

 

lol

 

I dont think they do

 

I have had two that came back looking for the one I had put down. I don't think they think about it at all but if they are mothers they are used to have having the little one around and keeping track of it and when it isn't with them they are just doing what they have been for as long as the baby has been around.

 

I think if you shoot a doe out from under a buck or from over a fawn the survivor would realize it for about two minutes before moving on with life.

 

I have heard that elephants and humans are the only two animals on earth that mourn and realize what has truly happened (the person/animal is dead/gone)..

So my answer is no, deer do not mourn or realize the other animal is dead and gone forever..

 

try dragging a dead cow away from the heard. they put up quite the fuss. crazy stuff, but it's over pretty much when the dead one is out of sight.

 

Its hard to believe that people actually shoot elephants knowing this.

 

Yeah I know -- I never really understood lion hunting or elephant hunting. But who am I to judge.

So i guess the next question would be do deer learn after seeing one of their own get taken?

 

I dunno, I arrowed a nice 12pt a few years ago. and a small basket rack 8 came over to him and just stood over him as if to say "hey, get up". That little buck just stood there for what seemed like forever until I spooked him off

 

No because I've shot deer in the exact same spot the day after & it was the exact same group. Both time's grazing acorns.

 

Yes, I have done that to. In fact myself and ILbucknut and another friend wiped out about 3-4 does in a few days. Joe and I took one from the very same stand and the other guy took one from like 40yds away. It was great, they came thru everyday at the same time . like clockwork

 

I think their kids know when they watch mommy fall.

 

Lol...How many times did you watch Bambi growing up?

 

Temporarily and they forget real fast! I once shot a small buck standing by a larger one with a 30-378 Weatherby. I swear the larger bucks jaw dropped open and his eyes bugged out and he was out of there!

 

yeah.. maybe they forget but what determins what they do and dont retain?? I mean they remember a smell of danger or sound.. they can pattern you and your hunting locations or so we think they can? Its a pretty good question to say the least!

 

i know a road where hundreds get killed every year.there's a small creek that they follow to the river bottom grain fields.
you would think they would go another route to get there ,but no they don't.
you can see one or two laying on the road,and twenty walk right on passed!

 

for a minute then its on to, where's my next meal/drink/bedding area/mate.

 

had fawns hang around in field while gutting mom, but they leave after a few minutes. i know that sounds terrible.

 

X 2 Yep me too, it bummed me out

I do not believe they know. They are a prey animal so it is natural for them to get whacked. An elephant is not a prey animal so maybe thats the difference? Just a guess..?

 

well.. Im not sure what they think.. but you know that they are born with instincts like a mother protecting thier fawns or leading danger away and such.. and Ive seen deer do things that seems to take some sort of logical thinking! But Im not sure how they preceive death. I shot a doe in a group of 5 and she went thirty yards and died... the group was within eye sight the whole time I was dressing her and wouldnt leave... so I have no clue what they might be able to process!

 

i think they realize that a deer they see on a regular basis is gone - does and fawns especially. but, i dont think they process it emotionally. it seems instinct takes over pretty quickly and it's on to the next food/bed/mating routine.

 

I try not to over-think this sort of stuff.

 

I've shot does with fawns, one time the fawn just bedded down 10 yards away.

 

I watched a couple of fawns for several days in a row feeding along the side of the road as I was heading to work. The following morning when I got to the spot where I had been seeing them I noticed one standing right at the edge of the road with the other laying in the middle of the road dead. It was like the one standing was there telling the other to "get up, lets go".

 

I've shot does with fawns, only to have the fawns follow her, looking for her. The next day the same fawns are out chillin in the field eating some beans. Just instinct.

Whether I seperate them or the rut does, they end up on their own in the end, never knowing any different.

Sort of like a puppy. It might whine for mama for a day or two. Now, if you took my dog to its mother, it would be sniffing her wondering who it is.

 

When I shot my buck he ran right past the doe he was with, spraying blood out his sides. He fell down about 10 yards away from her and died there (had a really loud death grunt). She watched him run by and then put her head down and kept feeding. She didn't have a care in the world until I started climbing down from my stand.