Amazing Animals we chase after. UPDATED!!!!

[pre6422hornet]

No matter how many hours I spend chasing, watching, hunting, dreaming about, talking about, etc.. big game it is amazing what these animals can do.

Back in January I collected some pictures of a good sized doe with a right front leg that was severly injured. Here is a good pic of her.



I caught her a few times on camera in January and February. I pulled the cams in March, and finally put them back out Jun 21. In 4 days one camera took 1733 pictures, of which all but 15 were of deer, and the second camera took 1312. My memory cards were full and I realized I had the cams set on 3 shot bursts with only 30 second delays.. I reset them and put in bigger memory cards.

Well to get back to the doe, loe and behold guess who shows up? Her bad leg has completely fallen off and it looks like where it was is still a little scabbed over, but she seems healthy. A little skinny, but otherwise healthy. No antibiotics, nothing. Just good old mother nature. I absolutely can't get enough of her. Here is the doe.



Now I did get some bucks on film too. A lot of small 6's and soon to be 8's, but the main interest for me showed up early in the field. I would know those brow tines anywhere. I have his left side from 2012 and his matched set from this spring. He is growing nice. You can see him up in the top right.



I moved the camera to a little pinch point on this field that the deer funnel through so I hope to possilbly get a few better pics in the next three weeks.

 

[JD338]

Awesome pictures!

JD338

 

[FOTIS]

Wow!

 

[Oldtrader3]

Curious, I wonder what attacked her leg?

 

[pre6422hornet]

Charlie I think this December after the seasons closed I found 5 dead deer within 100 yards of the field edge. This is all public land and during rifle season people sit on the field edge and shoot at deer as they run across the fields. All the deer were gut shot, or back ham area. Sad really.

I would put money on her getting shot.

 

[Guy Miner]

Looks like she's doing pretty well. I hope she fills out some and makes it through the year just fine.

Guy

 

[DrMike]

These are truly amazing animals. Clearly they are capable to taking a real beating and surviving. Good for the doe!

 

[Guy Miner]

I don't think the anti-hunting crowd has any idea that most hunters actually LIKE wildlife...

Guy

 

[Oldtrader3]

That is sad really. I guess that I have shot enough deer to not care as much about killing one more with a bad angle shot? I try very hard to kill with my first shot. Maybe because I am handicapped and can't chase a wounded deer through 3 miles of Devil's Club anymore.

 

[sask boy]

Charlie, I agree with you. I really try to take ethical shots and make DRT shots not only is it more satisfying but it saves me have to walk real far :wink:!
I hope that she gains strength and can help her fawn make fall.
Thank you for the photos.

Blessings,
Dan

 

[Oldtrader3]

This all reminds me of the bad old days when hunters took "sound" shots at deer. I helped one kid who had shot his dad in the gut with a 12 ga slug back when hunters wore red and it looked brown in certain light conditions. That was one sad and traumatized boy! The dad fortunately survived after several surgeries to repair the damage.

 

[pre6422hornet]

Well how cool is this. I pulled the cards yesterday and the doe without the leg showed up at the salt block, and actually is a pretty regular visitor.

She brought her fawn with her this time. So cool to see her survive that wound, become bred, and successfully rear a fawn. Inspiring.

 

[DrMike]

That is cool, indeed. Glad to see she made it and is raising a fawn.

 

[.280 Remington]

That's very cool to see Pat. I'm jealous I can't use trail cams out here, but there are no trees to put them on anyway! LOL

 

[chrispbrown27]

Many years ago I had three does come walking in on me. I sat and watched, try to decide which one to take, when I realized one was standing on only three legs. I assumed that the front back leg was tucked against the side of her body out of my view and that someone had taken a bad shot and never found her. I put the cross hairs behind her shoulder and at the shot she trotted away with the other two and disappeared in the brush. When I went to track her I found her laying just inside the brush. The leg had been gone for some time, as it was grown over with fur. She was a very fat healthy doe....I was amazed at how well she was getting around. I was teased relentlessly (and I still hear about it all these years later) about having to kill a wounded deer because I couldn't kill a "real" deer. At the time of the shot I thought I was doing her a favor by putting her out of her misery, but after seeing how she had survived I wish now I had taken one of the other deer.....a deer that thrives after such an injury deserved to have walked away unscathed......but ya can't take back the shot. The things you think about as you get older...