Deer question

[Richard]

If you take a deep breath and do a forced exhale, you might create a wheeze. I've heard deer make this 'sound' before and have been told it's done during mating season.

Some questions.

Is it done during mating season?
If so, is it done ONLY during mating season?
Is mating season going on "NOW", as in literally, today?

I was outside, walking the dogs and heard a repeated wheeze from a deer. Up in woods behind my house. something about it struck me as strange so I put the dogs back inside and went to look.

I was getting VERY near where the animal was but could never see it. When I moved through the (thick) underbrush, I couldn't hear anything for the noise I myself was making. (I'd been a terrible indian )

Since the deer was making the sounds during the day, since the deer wasn't (evidently moving), I was actually thinking perhaps it was a wounded deer.

If it WAS a wounded deer, I was hoping on putting it out of any misery.

By the time I got to the general vicinity, it was quiet as a mouse so either there was no deer WOUNDED (and semi mobile), or if it was, it was holding its breath and playing mouse (or had passed?)

There ARE hunters out here so I can't rule out anything yet. I've only heard a deer make this sound a couple times ever, and don't remember if it was done during this season or another.

Thoughts??

 

[DieselPower]

I know I have had alot of very vocal deer this year. I have one doe that goes past the house every morning about 2-3 am that makes one heck of a racket. The doe is on the way to my orchard to munch on pears and apples (which were planted for the deer). It's kind of a grunty/wheezy type sound which is kind of hard to describe.

 

[Tanberry]

They make that noise to alert other deer in the area or when their nervous . They aren't hurt . They will make that noise when they see a bobcat or dog or human. In my part of the country if you walk the fields at night you can hear them make this noise as they run off .

 

[dougj7]

maybe this site will help you identify the sound:

http://www.kerrlake.com/deer/sounds.htm

 

[EddieWalker]

It's a warning call to other deer that danger is close by. THey do this year round and it's very common in whitetails.

They will also stomp there front feet. The stomping is usually before the snort, but much harder to hear. It's a warning that something isn't right, but they don't know if it's a danger situation or just something new.

When one stomps it's front feet, the others will all stop what they are doing and look in the same direction the one who gave the warning. Than it's anybodies guess who will give the danger snort alarm. As soon as it's sounded, they will all run off with there tails up in the air.

Mule deer and blacktails have the same warnings except for the tail. I've never seen them lift there tials like the whitetail does.

There is also a grunt noise that the males make during mateing season. I'm not very knowledgable on that sound as I've never actually seen it in person, just read about it and seen it on TV.

There's also a sort of cry they make when the doe is looking for the fawn. It's a very spooky sound that will make the hair stand on your neck. I've only herd it a few times and that was with mule deer. I'm assuming whitetail make the same sound.

Eddie

 

[Willl]

I'm hoping you were wearing bright orange busting around in that brush

 

[Richard]

I'm hoping you were wearing bright orange busting around in that brush

I'd just come home from work and I admit, your comments were fairly top of my concern list.

I was wearing khaki pants, brown suede jacket, a nice male pattern bald spot on the back of my head (white deer tail?)

I can vouch it's white, someone else will have to say if it's mistakable for a deer tail

Then I figured, since I'm only maybe 200' away from my house in MY back yard, on 250 acres... I SHOULD be unconcerned.....

however, I could still never shake those heebee geebies of "is someone putting the crosshairs on me"

I told myself I should shout out "human alert, human alert"

 

[CDsdad]

Down here in the woods we call the wheeze sound "blowing" or "snorting" as Eddie said. If you here that sound and you are hunting, she probably just smelled you and you should probably just go home, cause every deer for a mile knows you're there. A doe calling a fawn we call "blating", fawns also do it to call their momma. A wounded doe will also blate if she's down and can't get up. Like Eddie, I've also never heard a grunt except on TV.

 

[scesnick]

That is the dreaded " I just busted you standing in that treestand" sound. I hate when that happens.
I have heard the grunt quite a few times. almost always while bow hunting and the rut is on and the buck is hot on a doe. That is just one of the crazy sounds they make when their hormones take over.

CDsdad,

the sound you guys call "Blating" we call a doe "Bleat" or Bleating" either,or.

I think the most deadly deer call I have ever used is the fawn in distress call. It sounds almost like a human infant crying very loud. If you want to take a doe, just start wailing on one of those and they will literally come running to the sound. It doesn't matter if its their fawn or not, they will come. I blew one about 3 weeks ago and I had 3 different does ( at various ranges ) come running to see what was going on.
But like all calls, there has to be a deer somewhere in the area for them to hear it.

I only use the grunt call to stop a deer that is walking in order to get a shot with the bow of course. it works well for that but for calling them in I think they are a waste of time.

 

[DUMBDOG]

Had a young dear caught in my garden fence this summer, it let out such a wail like I had never heard before. Now that raised the hairs on my neck. However while I was cutting it out of the wire, it did not make a sound.

 

[roxynoodle]

The sound the males make is pretty awful. To me it kind of sounds like a lion. Back when I first moved out here, I had only one mare (horse) at first and when she went in heat, I had a buck back in the field who must have been interested. He stood out there making that noise for a couple of days. I kept worrying he would jump the fence and try to mate the mare. Luckily he didn't! I guess he knew it was a female animal but not quite the right species.

 

[AlanB]

I'd just come home from work and I admit, your comments were fairly top of my concern list.

I was wearing khaki pants, brown suede jacket, a nice male pattern bald spot on the back of my head (white deer tail?)

I can vouch it's white, someone else will have to say if it's mistakable for a deer tail

Then I figured, since I'm only maybe 200' away from my house in MY back yard, on 250 acres... I SHOULD be unconcerned.....

however, I could still never shake those heebee geebies of "is someone putting the crosshairs on me"

I told myself I should shout out "human alert, human alert"

Reminds me of the joke of the guy standing beside his dead horse, looking at the woman in hunting clothes.

Yes, lady, I know it is your deere, and you can have him just as soon as I get my saddle off from him.

I used to live on the edge of the Ocala National forest, and on the opening day of gun season, it was a good day for us to go to town. Half the folks out there in the woods had no earthly idea what they were doing other then they were "Deere Hunting".

 

[SkyPup]

I drove thorugh Ocala Forest last night coming across on Hwy 40 and then north through Juniper Springs on up to Salt Springs and over to Fort McCoy about 9-10PM.

With the high beams on, there were 35-40 deer on the road side shoulder, all does. But also one big fat black bear smack in the middle of HWY 19!!!

I think my finger grip is still implanted into the steering wheel.....

 

[Robert_in_NY]

If it is a series of snorts then it is most likely the deer warning other deer that you are near as the others have said.

As for the Buck wheeze, they do this when they are posturing with another buck to try and intimidate them. It is quite loud and is a short snort with a long wheeze immediately after the snort and at the time they do this they are usually puffed out with their ears pinned back to make their antlers look larger and more intimidating. It is actually an interesting sound and they only do this when they have hardened antlers and are protecting their territory or the lucky doe from other bucks. I will try to get a video of one of ours doing this and see if someone can post it up for me as I can't post attachments on here for some reason.

 

[HGM]

If it is a series of snorts then it is most likely the deer warning other deer that you are near as the others have said.

As for the Buck wheeze, they do this when they are posturing with another buck to try and intimidate them. It is quite loud and is a short snort with a long wheeze immediately after the snort and at the time they do this they are usually puffed out with their ears pinned back to make their antlers look larger and more intimidating. It is actually an interesting sound and they only do this when they have hardened antlers and are protecting their territory or the lucky doe from other bucks. I will try to get a video of one of ours doing this and see if someone can post it up for me as I can't post attachments on here for some reason.

Tha wheeze is a very strange sound indeede... I heard it for the first time a couple of weeks ago.. I had two spikes under my stand when they decided to spar.. They grunted a couple of times, then knocked horns a couple of times and one let out this wheeze(kind of a hiss).. The only time I have ever heard an animal make this noise is when the sir is escaping its body when you accidently puncture the gut sack, kind og a slow "wushhhh".. Different, but kind of cool to see and hear them cary on naturally, making noises noone normaly hears..

I've only hear a few grunts in my hunting lifetime.. The TV and books all say its the holy grail, but I must not be too good at it(cussing them), or my deer dont speak that language.. I see plenty of deer at close range and have only had one deer(other than the spar I just mentioned) grunt within my eyesight.. It was a 7pt with his head to the ground sniffing out a doe that had recently passed by, steadily grunting as he approached me. I shot him on my way to the stand with my pistol at about 5-7yds, ih he wasnt grunting I may not have noticed him in time as we were walking toward eachother.. I've tried grunting to deer that were close by and they never even looked twice, just went about their bussiness for the most part..

It definitly sounds like she was blowing at you like the others said.. If that was the case, it doesnt surprise me that you never saw the deer.. When you have been busted, its up to the deer if you get to see them ...

BTW, they are rutting(mating season) here in the Atlanta area now.. You will usually notice many more deer related accidents or see alot more deer on the side of the road durring the rut.. They just arent as smart when its mating season...

 

[Richard]

I didn't see the deer because I was SEVERAL hundred feet away. This is not a situation where I stumbled near where they were. I was out in the middle of the field in front of my house (probably 200' away from house?) The deer was BEHIND the house in some thick underbrush. I'd speculate it was easily 150' behind the house.

That distance is one thing that kind of intrigues me as to why I heard it. It kept repeating the sound, what ever it was. As it kept repeating the sound, I walked the dogs back to front of house & put them inside. The sound kept repeating. I then (slowly) walked down driveway, over to hill and started to work my way up hill. The sound continued...

As I got up the hill, sort of on the same level where I thought the sound was coming from, I heard it again and I started walking across (as opposed to up) the hill, towards the sound.

I tried to keep a KEEN eye out in front of me since I know a deer can be difficult to see at times. I really didn't want to come upon it and have it wounded and in a really foul mood

As I worked my way through the VERY thick underbrush, I'd stop every now & then to listen. Finally, it was what seemed to be 50' in front of me or closer (might have been tricked by the hills & sounds)

As I walked closer & then stopped, the sounds were 100% gone. Nada, nothing, zero.

I presumed the deer bolted up the hill but I should have heard the galloping, OR perhaps at minimum, it cutting through the brush. I heard nothing. It was at this point, I thought maybe the deer WAS wounded and had simply died at that ironic time.

Walked forward even further and simply saw nothing.

so it was at this point I finally got the heebee Geebies about the possiblity of some excited hunter somewhere and I made my retreat down the hill & back to my dogs & house.

Perhaps it was a figment... perhaps in 4 more days, I'm going to have a MAJOR smell problem up the hill... guess I'll see.

 

[HGM]

Maybe you could put on a bright orange shirt(or something bright), in the middle of the day and walk the dogs up there.. It would give you an answer to a dead animal.. Even if your dogs dont normaly track, they will probably lead you right to it with a little coaxing, if there is in fact something up there.. Just a thought..