ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS
A Deer Gave Birth in My Yard Then Peed on My Dog
Please let wildlife be wild
Last week, a heavily pregnant deer wandered into my backyard in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I’ve seen many deer around my home over the years, but I’ve never seen what happened next: the deer gave birth right on my lawn.
As I watched from my window, the fawn slipped right out of its mom and plopped onto the ground, slimy and squirming. It took its first few shambling steps as its mother herded it into the underbrush at the back of my yard. The fawn was so tiny, tinier than any baby deer I’ve ever seen before. I tried to hold back a few awed tears — the experience was so pure and beautiful.
And then things got…dangerous.
Appearances can be deceiving
When most people see deer, we tend to think they’re cute, or, at the very least, harmless.
I can now tell you from highly personal experience that is simply not true.
Fun fact: deer are actually the deadliest animals in the US, according to an analysis of CDC cause of death data. Many of those deer-related deaths are due to accidents, but not all — deer can be violent during mating season or when they are protecting their babies.
Deer are actually the deadliest animals in the US.
We found this out firsthand. Caught in the warm afterglow of witnessing the birth, my husband and I let our dog out so he could use the restroom. We were still fawning over the cuteness of the fawn, the beauty of nature, and how lucky we felt to have seen the birth.
And then our dog, Tater Tot, started barking furiously. We ran to the back door and saw the mama deer, still bloated from pregnancy, charging Tater, chasing him around our patio, and trying to stomp him. My husband and I flung open the door and yelled until the mother backed off, which she did — reluctantly.
She was still nearby, looking menacing with her fawn near her feet. My husband rolled a soccer ball off to her right to try to startle her back into the undergrowth and away from our dog, but the ball didn’t scare her. It just made her angry.
While we watched, open-mouthed and in shock, the mama deer pummeled that soccer ball. She kicked it, stomped it, snarled at it, trampled it — if that had been something living, she undoubtedly would have killed it. When she finally stopped and ushered her fawn into the bushes beyond, all we could do was stare at each other.
At that point, we noticed the smell.
The mama deer peed on our dog
On our patio, the reek of deer urine was so strong it made our eyes water. The smell was musky and earthy, and the trail of stench led from our patio right to Tater.
It took us a moment to realize that the deer had actually peed on our dog. I’ve done some research to try and understand this behavior, but I can’t explain it. Maybe the deer was marking our backyard as her territory, or maybe she wanted to scare Tater so badly so that he would leave her and her fawn alone for good.
Luckily, the smell wore off after a few hours.
Unluckily, the mama deer stalked us for nearly a week — lurking in our backyard, looking through our windows, and popping out every time our dogs went out to pee. She even managed to corner Tater Tot against the house a handful of times before she finally moved her fawn elsewhere.
Be careful around wildlife
Until the mama deer and her baby moved on to new territory, our dogs were not safe in our yard. Frankly, we were not safe in our yard. After seeing that mama murder the soccer ball, I know exactly how much power she has.
I’m sharing this story because it’s honestly so crazy that I’m still processing it, but also as a cautionary tale. Because the pandemic and quarantine have emptied our cities, some wildlife have altered their behavior, creeping into more urban settings they used to avoid. While it can be tempting to try to get close to them, take pictures with them, or pet them, don’t. Deer attacks are rare, but they do happen. And even if a deer doesn’t attack you, they do carry deer ticks, which can transmit Lyme disease.
Bottom line: Do yourself and everybody else a favor and let wildlife be wild.