Pennsylvania Game News - August 2013 - 28

offer second chances, only bad shots.
But even though they possess one of
nature’s best defense systems and typically leave at the hint of danger, they
can’t and don’t run from everything.
Otherwise we wouldn’t see them in
yards and crossing busy highways.
Deer have a tolerance for people,
but that applies more to places where
they expect to see us. So if a deer sees,
hears or smells humans in places where
they normally don’t, they go on alert.
Watching a deer’s tail is a great way to
interpret its mood. When its tail wags
or twitches downwardly, unflared, the
deer is content. If it’s suspicious or unnerved, the deer will raise and flair its
tail. That’s the first sign that things may
not be going your way.
A flared tail is a red light for a doe
with young or group of traveling deer.
It usually means the signaler has probably crossed your or another hunter’s
fresh scent trail, or it sees you. Young
deer typically do not display if they see
you. They usually just watch you. But if
you attract their attention for too long,
another deer is likely to notice you.
That’s usually a deal-breaker.
It’s pretty interesting watching
other deer after they receive a flared
tail signal. The signaler, often the lead
doe, gets their undivided attention. All
eyes are on her. You’re hoping she’ll
drop her head and start foraging, or
that something else will attract her attention — maybe the deer bringing up
the rear. But if she stays locked on you,
with her tail up and flared, she’s getting
ready to go. They sometimes drop their
ears just before they bolt, and they usually leave the way they came. Bucks are
less inclined to backtrack, particularly
those canvassing for does in the rut. But
they usually stay out of bow range after
28

they sniff or pick you out.
Snorts aren’t necessarily the trouble
some hunters perceive them to be.
Over the years, I’ve taken several deer
after being busted by whitetails that
snorted me off on my way in to hunt
in the dark. Deer tend to get on with
their lives quickly after interruptions
and threats, particularly when the
perceived threat leaves or is announced
by deer in the distance. One opener, a
deer snorted at me just as I reached my
stand in the morning darkness. I went
up the tree in my climber and then
sat still until daylight came about 45
minutes later. As soon as it was light
enough to see — and shoot — I noticed
a deer nearby. It was alone and foraging.
Was it the same deer? I don’t know.
But it sure seemed possible. The deer
I chased was a loner, and this one was
by itself, too. So maybe it got over
me or didn’t chase everyone from the
neighborhood.
I have had deer around me when
another snorted in the distance, and it
didn’t bother them, at least that I could
notice. Gray squirrels also behave that
way when an alert cry cuts through the
woods calmness. Interestingly, deer
I’ve watched usually don’t pay much
attention to barking squirrels, maybe
because they’re scolded regularly, or
simply because they don’t consider the
bark indicative of trouble.
I always consider the bark of a squirrel a welcomed noise, hoping that it’s
directed at deer starting to stir in the
woods, especially on an early autumn
night. Sometimes, though, I’ll see
a red-tailed hawk cruising over the
canopy, and I’ll know immediately
that it was responsible for agitating
the squirrels.
Mature does that are in heat someGAME NEWS
Pennsylvania Game News - August 2013

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