Coming between a doe and her fawns

Hi all -
Took a nice trail run in the state forest behind my house. Ran around a corner and came upon a large doe and her two beautiful fawns. The fawns ran to the right and kept going. Mama ran to the left a few feet and stopped about 5 feet off the trail. She then watched me very seriously as I ran on by, but did not move.

I didn't think of it at the time, but later got to wondering: Would a doe ever try to attack someone who came between her and her fawns?

Thanks,
Marty

Yes.

And just in case you were wondering, someone will occasionally want to sue someone else as a result:

Deer attack lawsuit.

No, I'm not making this up.

Several times, on my commute, I’ve met a small fawn…to taller than 2 feet…. Barely able to stand. That little guy’s mother comes out onto the path, spreads her legs to have a good solid stance, then stares me in the eye. I can almost hear her say,

“Come one step closer, buster, and you’ll feel the fire of my feet on your face.”

The bears I’ve met have scared me less

marty said:

Took a nice trail run in the state forest behind my house. Ran around a corner and came upon a large doe and her two beautiful fawns. The fawns ran to the right and kept going. Mama ran to the left a few feet and stopped about 5 feet off the trail. She then watched me very seriously as I ran on by, but did not move.

Click to expand...

I had a very similar experience recently hiking in the Shawangunks, in a very busy area no less-Minnewaska State Park, not far from the beach at Lake Minnewaska. I had just passed a bunch of people and was about to pass another bunch when all of a sudden I was between mama doe and her fawns. She gave me the stare and I moved along. I believe there are many animals, including some birds, that are potentially dangerous if protecting their young.

Matt

I'd be a little wary, or at least try to seem as non-threatening as possible - even with a deer, I think. I was in Alaska to do some climbing in Denali during the calving season for moose, and the backcountry rangers warned us that they were pretty deadly where their offspring are concerned.

Apparently their young are so frequently hunted by grizzlies that they learn to protect them fiercely. At one point a large cow with a calf made a couple of false charges at us and it was pretty frightening.

I came across a situation once where I came across a doe and one of her fawns. The doe stamped her foot at me repeatedly. It was clear she was not happy. I respected her wishes and moved out of the area quickly.