Wednesday, November 25, 2009

It Came Out Of The Fog


Here it is! This the the mysterious animal that most of you guessed yesterday in the game. Yes, it is a White-Tailed Deer. I told you yesterday that it came after me, and that's exactly what it did. I'm going to tell you the story of how that happened, and I also have something new for you at the end of the post. Let's start!

On the foggy day I've been telling you about, I was walking from the lake up the path toward the meadow where I frequently see deer. About halfway through the path I met a man with his dog. The man told me that he had see a few deer in that meadow, but they had scattered when they saw him and his companion.

Obviously I was not happy at that point because I had hoped to be able to see a deer or two myself when I got there. I figured the deer wouldn't be coming out any time soon after seeing that pair. So I made my way to the meadow with thoughts of just getting a few scenery pictures of that foggy place. It was soon after I got there that I saw the flashes of a deer's tail that I showed you in yesterday's game!


The deer soon disappeared into the trees, so I began taking my scenery pictures. Let me tell you, it was not easy to see out there at all! My camera was able to cut through the fog much better than my eyes could. I had just turned towards the trees where I last saw the deer when I saw a figure coming towards me out of the fog!

It was one of the deer! It was moving purposefully in my direction. I knew by its body language that it had seen me, and was coming to investigate. It was moving right for me so I stopped so it wouldn't run away. It was then that I noticed that it was thinking of coming right up to me!

I wasn't sure what to do by then because it didn't seem like it was being aggressive, but it was moving with a purpose. It kept looking at me as if it really wanted to find out what I was and what I was doing there. I guess it was much like I do to a lot of animals. This was another deer that was not one bit afraid of me!


I was kind of glad when it stopped about ten feet away. It began lifting its head in my direction sniffing the air. I learned a long time ago to mimic the gestures of a deer, so I did the same thing to it. That seemed to rouse its curiosity even more and it took another few steps forward. There was also one other thing I wanted to try.

When it inched towards me I turned as if I was going to run away. That seemed to embolden the deer. It still moved cautiously, but it came even closer to me when I did that. My fake show of fear made the deer actually seem to try to coax me back towards it though. It was trying to show me that it meant no harm. This was one of the strangest animal encounters I've ever had!

This deer was trying to get me to come closer for some odd reason, but I wasn't going to try it. Just as the deer didn't want to scare me, I also didn't want to scare it. I also didn't want to accidentally teach it that humans were safe to approach. I'm not sure it saw me as a human though.


Just for a short break in the story, I wanted to show you this picture. It was one where the deer had been moving towards me. It's looking right at me. I really sensed no aggression on its part, but I did sense intense curiosity. It also showed an amazing amount of tenderness when it thought I had become afraid.


Now I know I implied yesterday that I thought I was in some danger. Well, I think at one point I really was, but not from this deer. In this last picture you can see that she is looking off into the distance. She was look towards a sound at the edge of the forest that we could both hear.

That sound was something that I've only heard on nature TV shows. It sounded like a male deer sharpening its antlers on a tree. It was kind of a clacking sound, and it was much too close for comfort. That sound means that the male deer is thinking very aggressively, and it's best to stay out of his way.

I thought I had seen movement through the fog in that direction before those sounds began, and the female here in front of me seemed to be checking out the sounds, but she wasn't too afraid. She did begin to slowly move away from me after they started though. That was when I thought I should get out of the meadow and leave these deer in peace. It was only the third time now that I've left an animal before it left me.


As you can see, I have added a video to my post today. It's the very first one I have ever put here on this blog. I guess you can say that this is the debut of Rat TV. This video is only really a quick slide show of the deer in the pictures. I wanted to give you some idea of what I saw when the deer came to me.

I came up with this idea after I remembered that I should have captured a video of the whole incident. I wish this could have been better, but I was torn between watching the deer and taking pictures when this all happened. I hope you enjoy it. There will be more and better videos in the future.

That's all for this huge post. Tomorrow I'll bring more pictures of the deer because I have a few more points to make here. There's still some interesting things to tell about this encounter, but tomorrow I'll try to keep it a  little shorter for you. See you then!

13 comments:

  1. I enjoy the video, Ratty and your post also!

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  2. I always like to compare your deer with my monkeys. They must be less aggressive than monkeys since you have been very close to them.

    That's is a good story.

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  3. Ratty- that is great! I love it where she sticks her tongue out! I think that to "tame" a deer over here so much would only sign its death warrant. Did you have your camera set so you could click one pic after another without pause? I've only tried that once. The slide show is almost as good as video, and a much smaller file.

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  4. Yeah i was right. What an awesome experience that must have been. You're video was great. i like rat tv very cool

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  5. loevly pics ratty...and love the video.. :-)

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  6. Happy Thanksgiving Ratty!

    Congrats on the video debut! Keep them coming (although I do love the still shots). When you said "I'm not sure it saw me as a human though." I couldn't help but think she was seeing through that tent we call our body and perhaps catching a glimpse of something much more.

    God Bless my friend, prayers for your health, happiness, and knowledge of His will.

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  7. What a sweet precious deer. thank you for sharing the story and photos and the video. Lovely. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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  8. What an amazing adventure you had with this deer!! Great photos Ratty and I love that you finally put a little video of the pictures on here. Hope we see more. Do you have actual video output on your camera? It does use up the batteries fast so always make sure you carry extras when you do video. I loved your slide show!! I am sure glad that male deer didn't come after you. That was probably his girlfriend flirting with you..Ha! Ha! Have a great Thanksgiving!

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  9. OMG! What a stunning beauty!:D

    To get pictures that close and shoot a video at the same time... must have been a wonderful encounter. Perhaps one day you'd be lucky enough to get to touch the deer too!

    Happy Thanksgiving.

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  10. Ohhh, it's a slide show. I wondered why the video was 'not smooth'... LOL! Sorry, didn't read properly... hehe

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  11. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate it! And you have a happy day too, for all of you who don't.
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    @Icy BC
    Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.
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    @Rainfield
    I think it's mostly the male deer that are aggressive. When I put together my slide show video, I saw another related video where a male deer attacked a hunter with its front feet. I think the males can get as mean as some monkeys. There was one in the forest that might have been thinking of hurting me that day.
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    @Sharkbytes
    I liked when she stuck her tongue out too. I actually chose that one over a more relevant one to the story. I didn't want this one becoming tame either. It's dangerous for them even here. I always set my camera to get one picture after another without the pause. Then I just have to hold down the shutter for it to keep going until I let it up. It helps make getting animal pictures so much easier. It's also the best and easiest way to get pictures of flying birds.
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    @Ann
    That experience will be one I'll always remember. There will be much more Rat TV to come. Next up will be some real video.
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    @Allotments4you
    Thanks about both. There will be more video soon.
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    @Scott
    I'll mix still shots and video more and more as I get more video now. The still shots will always be the main focus though. I really hope you're right about that deer. She did seem to be trying to be friends with me.

    Thanks, Scott. Same for you.
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    @DK Miller
    It did seem to be one of the nicest deer I've ever encountered. It really seemed to be trying to reach out to me.
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    @Smoky Mountain Hiker
    Thank you very much.
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    @Ginnymo
    You were my main inspiration for my Rat TV. Yes, my camera has video, so this will be just the beginning. I discovered how easy it is to put this stuff on Youtube. I already have a real video waiting to load up here. I'll be posting that one very soon. It still won't be as good as yours though. I think you're right about the deer. The male started making that noise when the female came close. She kept looking over there worriedly. I think she knew he was coming out soon.
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    @Nessa
    I think I might have been able to touch the deer this time, but I didn't want it to think that humans were safe to get close to. I've been in similar situations before. I try to keep a short distance away from the animals for both our safety. It's very tempting to want to pet them though. :)

    My next video will be a real one. This one was just there so you all could get an idea of what happened.
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  12. Hi there! I have to say I really enjoyed reading your blog, it makes for an awesome Read! I hope to see more stories from you soon! Thanks!

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