As I tried to get a line set in a bottomland woods pin oak I got into a complicated throwline mess. That was good because as I sat on the ground working quietly on the line a white-tailed deer with new antlers sprouting came by to visit. This is not a tame deer, as some of you have probably found out, if you are sitting quietly and they notice you they become very curious, this deer spent fifteen minutes circling around me between 20 and 40' away:





Calmly munching on some fresh leaves, note the ticks round its eye and face


Initial ascent, can you see my gear on the ground?


Up in the top


All the photos

-AJ

The close encounter with the deer seems to have made this a doubly fun climb. Great pictures. Thank you for posting, Moss.

Beautiful! I love it when I'm allowed a close encounter with the wild ones. Thanks for the pictures

-Leslie

Nice! I haven't had deer circle me that close down here in the Southeast (too danged many hunters), but I recently started paying attention to other, smaller critters like squirrels, birds, rabbits, etc. They don't seem as frightened this year as in the past -- particularly when I'm climbing near human habitation -- so I'm beginning to suspect that at least some animals are becoming more tolerant of us two-legged mammals. Maybe it has something to do with the lack of gun hunting in the new suburban and exurban areas. Regardless, my throwline will get tangled at least once every day...!

Ya this deer is probably more habituated to humans than some in more wild settings, then again I've had interactions like this with deer far from cities and towns. Main thing is when you're walking or standing wildlife doesn't like it. When deer hear the unique two-legged human shuffle through the woods they move. When you're staying still low, or up in a tree they don't recognize you as dangerous, at least visually. Scent's another matter, depends if the wind is blowing or not and which way it's going.
-AJ