I got so close to a Buck ..

Okay-- I really tried to not say anything, but DD's comment about the girls scouts feeding the deer really got to me. Please, please, everyone realize that feeding wildlife is a terrible thing to do. First, it groups the animals together in larger numbers than is healthy. CWD (chronic wasting disease), blue tongue, ticks, even rabies all appear in much higher numbers when animals are fed than when they must forage for themselves.
Second--fed animals live too close to humans. They lose fear, and are killed accidentally (ie, car crashes) in higher numbers.
Third--fed animals reproduce with more success. This results in higher numbers of animals on habitat that really can't support them without supplementation--if the feeding stops, the animals overabundance results in starvation.
Fourth--it brings you, your kids, and your pets in close contact with animals that may be carrying ailments that can spread.
Fifth--encouraging animals that are prey animals to congregate on your property is basically setting up a buffet for the predators. Big cats, bears, wolves, etc that learn to hunt near humans usually end up being killed, and homeowners tend to be less than happy about deer carcasses in their back yard.
 
oh YellowFreckles .. i feel so bad for your son . i know it must have been hard and what can ya say about dad hitting bambi .. poor lil guy ...
me and my huband almost hit a bunch of deer in Redmond Oregon .. we were driveing on a long country road at night when about 30 deer jumped right out infront of us .my husband slammed on his breaks luckily we didnt hit one . he was driveing his 78 King Cobra Mustang .. it wouldnt have been pretty ..lol

Sumthin Fishy .. I dont hunt at all .. i could never do it.. im always out with my camera .. i love wildlife so much .. I live in a small town up in NorthEastern Oregon of about 2,000 we have alot of wildlife here and i just love it .. I hear there is alot of BlackTails in Rogue River .. my father in law lives there and he get alot on his property . I also hear they are alot smaller thn the Mules and the White tail .. this guy i got the pic of was pretty big im 5'2" and his shoulders were taller then me .. even some of the Does are big .. i just thought it was so cool to get that close to him.. if it wsnt for the females rustling around in the bushes i woulda got closer .. they didnt like it i was around .. but he didnt care .. he was more layed back and relaxed ..the series of pics i got on my website are of him and his harem ..

Orion these guys live in town here .. there is a 5 block stretch of wooded area that they hang out in and also graze a few fields around .. i know ppl around here dont feed them deliberatly they come around the properties and eat the fruits off the trees . this Valley has alot of fruits trees .. It is the GrandeRhonde Valley surrounded by mountains .. in the winter time when the snow is bad we get alot more deer in town .. ive had a herd pass through my backyard of about 15 atleast .. they are looking for food through town cause the snow is so deep up in the mountains .. but i think it is so cool to see them around and i always chase them with my camera .. even in the snow ..i would love to see alot more wildlife .. and hopefully one day get some great shots of them.. (with my camera) I could and would not hunt ...

Marn
 
Looks like the same buck as the one you took near the fence. Has the same tine broken off and also the large wart on his nose...lol....was he near some houses when you took those shots, or is he a captive buck ? Pretty good pics though ! ;)
 
I agree whole heartidly with OG on the feeding of deer like that, its a bad idea. Even just for the Animal's well being, if you stop feeding them, they now have a much tougher time locating food that normally they would be feeding on, but instead have started depending on people.

The only type of "feeding" I would every advocate and actually wish more people would use this method as it greatly helps to keep healthier wildlife in general is establishing food plots. Taking tracts of land, and planting them with a food directed at the wildlife, basically farming a crop that the deer and whatever else can feed on. There are a ton of different varieties out there aimed at all sorts of different times in a deer's life from developing antlers/better nursing for does, to fattening the deer up for winter. The food plots though eliminate the human interaction with the animals, they don't associate people with having planted the feed, and retain their wild instincts.
 
thanks Nursie i enjoy takeing the pics ..

Emg . that is the same buck ... he had just made a circle and i caught that one pic of him away from the fence .. i sure wished that fence wasnt in the way of the other pic but i couldnt move over any more then what i could .. and they are also the same Deer on my web site of the first 13 pics after these 2.. . and no these are not captive bred ..they are wild .. they just live in town .. these Deer were standing about 100 feet off the roadway .. there is a 5 block stretch of some wilderness for them and a few big fields .. they just happen to choose that area to live in ..
it is all country folk here and alot of hunters . we dont feed them at all they graze off of what they can around here .. i agree about the not feeding them as they would just get to dependent on us and then not know what to do ..

Marn
 
Well.....feeding wild animals in any manner I think is a bad idea. In my state...CT...we have so many deer that it's a hazard driving down the roads at night....and we have a very bad issue with deer ticks and lyme disease because of the large number of deer. We are small densly populated state so there aren't alot of large tracks of land to open up for hunting purposes....some but not lots...and everytime you do open an area up, some nutty PETA/animal rights activists come out and cause all kinds of problems.

If the animal isn't able to take care of it's own needs out in the wild wherever it's living.....then...oh well....unfortunately they seem to be doing rather well here in our nieghborhoods eating up everyones plants and gardens and leaving thier ticks behind for our kids to pick up when they go outside to play. My oldest son has had lyme disease twice! Thank God we caught it early both times and he isn't suffering any long term effects. Not so with others I know...who didn't catch it so soon.

Lately I've been seeing them hanging around on the side of the roads in broad daylight, nibbling on the grass. We sure don't need to be feeding them here in my state !!


OH....and Marn...I don't mean to be taking anything away from those pics you took ! They are fantastic pictures and very well taken. I love watching deer, they are a beautiful animal for sure..it's just that they can be a problem when there gets to be too many. Others were talking about how to feed wild animals and I just had to put in my 2cents on that issue.

Keep taking those pics and thank you for sharing your talent and interest with us here !!
 
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thanks emg ... oh i understand about the not feeding .. and most here were talking about not feeding them .. cant blame the poor girl scouts ..lol. poor girls ...
they are awesome creatures .. and to bad them can destroy and carry the ticks ..and so sorry to hear about your son that got lyme disease .. hope it dont happen here .. we seem to not have a big problem with the deer .. i think we have more of a problem with squirells here ..they are all over the place and you so many killed all over the main roads ..they are cute lil critters . but can be mean..
i just love mother nature and all her wildlife ..
i think it is sad seeing these guys lvieng right in the middle of town .. sure it is nice seeing them but i would rather they live were they are supposed to .. in the mountains..

Marn
 
looks like the one I shot last weekend nice white tail.
 
hey Tono .. actually this one is a Mule Deer ... thats why the poor guy has such big mule ears ....poor thing .lol

Marn
 
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