I think a deer wants to become friends with my dogs. Can someone provide an
alternative explanation to the following events from this afternoon in
Chapel Hill? Apologies in advance for the length of this account.

I've got a fenced-in, wooded backyard surrounded by more woods. Lots of deer
hang out in the neighborhood, although when my dogs are outside and see
them, the barking usually sends the deer on their way.

Today I was outside when one of the dogs ran to the back of the fence and
started barking. I looked up and saw a deer near the fence. But instead of
running off, the deer actually approached the fence where the dog was. About
a minute later my other dog decided to check out the commotion and ran back
there. So now two dogs are barking at this deer that's no more than a yard
away, and the deer doesn't run. Indeed, when the dogs occasionally lunged in
the deer's direction the deer would lunge back.

After a few minutes Dog no. 1 got bored and ran along the edge of the fence
toward the house. Dog no. 2 followed her. And then the deer followed also,
running just on the other side of the fence. Dog no. 1 kept going toward the
house but Dog no. 2 stopped to bark at the deer some more. The deer stood
there for a while and then finally ran off toward the house next door.

I went back to reading the newspaper, but about five minutes later the deer
came back. Dog no. 2 ran back to bark some more, and the dog and the deer
lunged at each other a few times. Finally the dog stopped barking and the
two animals just stood there looking at each other through the wire fence.

By now I was really intrigued, so I crept out closer to the action and sat
down behind some brush about 15 yards away. Dog no. 2 ran over to me to say
hi and sat by me for a while. The deer waited about a minute and then
started walking away. The movement attracted Dog no. 2 to run back to the
fence (by now he's quit barking). The deer turned around and walked back
also. The dog stood there a while looking at the deer and then ran to the
back part of the yard where the deer had first appeared. The deer again
followed the dog and stopped just on the other side of the fence. The two
stared at each other for a few minutes and then the dog lay down and the
deer started munching on some tree leaves. If they were people, they would
have close enough to shake hands.

Nothing changed for the longest time, except when I would move occasionally
to shift position or slap a mosquito the deer would look up guardedly until
I was still again. After a while, the mosquitoes were biting so badly I had
to retreat out of the woods and the dog got up and followed me. The deer
watched for a few seconds and then wandered off.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before? The whole episode lasted
about 30 minutes. At the beginning the deer would occasionally stomp the
ground like I've seen them do to warn others of a threat. That made me think
that perhaps there was a fawn somewhere nearby, which maybe would have
helped explain the lunging. But when the deer would leave the dogs it was
always in a different direction, and I never saw any other deer the whole
time. Plus, I've never seen deer behave aggressively, even with their
offspring around.

Rabies?


"Laura Van Sant" wrote in message
...
| I think a deer wants to become friends with my dogs. Can someone
provide an
| alternative explanation to the following events from this afternoon
in
| Chapel Hill? Apologies in advance for the length of this account.
|

snipped

I've head that wasting disease, a mad-cow disease, has appeared in the NC
deer population. However, the following says that CWD symptoms include
decreased interaction with other animals--don't know if "other animals"
mean other deer or other species.

216.27.49.98/news_stories/pg00_NewsRelease/ pg00_may02_1.htm

Laura, It may have been a young buck. I've seen them act somewhat aggressively
in the rut season (around Fall) but it's possible that he was feeling his oats a
little early. Did the deer have little fuzzy brown knubs on it's head? Just
another possibility!
Eileen

Laura Van Sant wrote:

I think a deer wants to become friends with my dogs. Can someone provide an
alternative explanation to the following events from this afternoon in
Chapel Hill? Apologies in advance for the length of this account.

I've got a fenced-in, wooded backyard surrounded by more woods. Lots of deer
hang out in the neighborhood, although when my dogs are outside and see
them, the barking usually sends the deer on their way.

Today I was outside when one of the dogs ran to the back of the fence and
started barking. I looked up and saw a deer near the fence. But instead of
running off, the deer actually approached the fence where the dog was. About
a minute later my other dog decided to check out the commotion and ran back
there. So now two dogs are barking at this deer that's no more than a yard
away, and the deer doesn't run. Indeed, when the dogs occasionally lunged in
the deer's direction the deer would lunge back.

After a few minutes Dog no. 1 got bored and ran along the edge of the fence
toward the house. Dog no. 2 followed her. And then the deer followed also,
running just on the other side of the fence. Dog no. 1 kept going toward the
house but Dog no. 2 stopped to bark at the deer some more. The deer stood
there for a while and then finally ran off toward the house next door.

I went back to reading the newspaper, but about five minutes later the deer
came back. Dog no. 2 ran back to bark some more, and the dog and the deer
lunged at each other a few times. Finally the dog stopped barking and the
two animals just stood there looking at each other through the wire fence.

By now I was really intrigued, so I crept out closer to the action and sat
down behind some brush about 15 yards away. Dog no. 2 ran over to me to say
hi and sat by me for a while. The deer waited about a minute and then
started walking away. The movement attracted Dog no. 2 to run back to the
fence (by now he's quit barking). The deer turned around and walked back
also. The dog stood there a while looking at the deer and then ran to the
back part of the yard where the deer had first appeared. The deer again
followed the dog and stopped just on the other side of the fence. The two
stared at each other for a few minutes and then the dog lay down and the
deer started munching on some tree leaves. If they were people, they would
have close enough to shake hands.

Nothing changed for the longest time, except when I would move occasionally
to shift position or slap a mosquito the deer would look up guardedly until
I was still again. After a while, the mosquitoes were biting so badly I had
to retreat out of the woods and the dog got up and followed me. The deer
watched for a few seconds and then wandered off.

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before? The whole episode lasted
about 30 minutes. At the beginning the deer would occasionally stomp the
ground like I've seen them do to warn others of a threat. That made me think
that perhaps there was a fawn somewhere nearby, which maybe would have
helped explain the lunging. But when the deer would leave the dogs it was
always in a different direction, and I never saw any other deer the whole
time. Plus, I've never seen deer behave aggressively, even with their
offspring around.

The deer could have been blind, deaf, and/or sick from the behavior you
mentioned. Deer that are blind/deaf will often seem normal and just on tame
side as they are getting around by scent. Because they couldn't see/hear
dogs, they wouldn't have been alarmed, only curious by the smell. A number
of diseases can also make them act like that in which they are too sick to
care but still not obviously sick for most humans to notice that something
is wrong with them.

Genevieve

New deer hunting bill OK'd

By SARAH ROBERTS, Rockford Register Star
Click here for more about Sarah

SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed legislation Tuesday that
creates special deer hunting seasons to combat the spread of chronic
wasting disease, a neurological malady responsible for the demise of
at least a dozen deer in the Rock River Valley.

The bill gives the Department of Natural Resources the authority to
establish separate harvest periods to control or eliminate the
disease. Hunting dates will be at the department's discretion, as will
hunting locations. The legislation, which takes effect immediately,
makes the special seasons open to gun and bow hunters.

At the bill signing in Mercer County, just south of the Quad Cities,
Blagojevich touted the measure as a way to preserve the state's
"long-standing deer hunting tradition."

"As we have seen with the recent spread of other diseases involving
native and exotic wildlife, we need laws and regulations that allow us
to act quickly to contain them," Blagojevich said in a statement.
"This law does that and will help secure the future of deer hunting in
Illinois."

Chronic wasting disease affects deer and elk but is not a known threat
to humans or livestock. The incurable disease is spread from one
animal to another and causes infected animals to become emaciated,
display abnormal behavior, lose coordination and eventually die.

Illinois began testing for CWD last year after the disease was
discovered in neighboring Wisconsin. The first CWD deer was found last
fall in an area near Roscoe on the border of Winnebago and Boone
counties. Eleven more diseased deer have since been found in that
area, along with two in McHenry County, bringing the state's recorded
number to 14.

http://www.rrstar.com/localnews/your...625-9765.shtml

---

I believe CWD is more established in Illinois. Is CWD new in the NC
population? That would be quite worrisome if it is.

nick

On 16 Jul 2003, Nick Streeter wrote:

I believe CWD is more established in Illinois. Is CWD new in the NC
population? That would be quite worrisome if it is.

I had heard that it is has been found in NC. I suppose the Wildlife
department could give you the official word on this.

Donna