Pretty interesting study

[scn]

A controlled study on the noises that spook deer the most:

https://www.deerassociation.com/dee...tter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=02-24-2022

 

[Lost Lake]

Good article.

I do wonder though, if in urban areas where deer have figured out that it can be safer to nestle right up next to development, that they aren't as alarmed by nearby human voices and their immediate proximity. I can surely see how deer in wildness type areas would be gone at the first sounds of human voices.

 

[Dennis]

They can get used to just about anything. That could be the reason they spooked more from wolf noise than coyote noise- they are used to coyote noise. I hunted by a golf course and people talked constantly but the deer didn't care.

 

[Omega]

Yea, I agree, deer seem know when they are safe, even from us. On Ft Campbell, in the cantonment area (fenced in part) were no hunting is allowed, the deer do not care if you are around. Also around my house, I drive in and deer are 20-30 yards away and they just watch me to make sure I don't head their way.

 

[@fulldraw]

I've never had a deer spook from talking to them. Tried numerous times to spook them at dark by talking. They didn't pay any attention to my voice. Even on public land they didn't spook.

 

[iowavf]

You can drive a tractor right up to them, but a pickup, they're running just from seeing or hearing one drive by road. Was in my blind last year and had about fifteen doe and bucks feeding in the hay field. Nothing I wanted to shoot at the time so thought they'd feed and move onto the bedding area. Nope, they decided they'd just lay there and take a break. I yelled at them, barked like a dog, and they didn't even look towards me. They were from 10 to 70 yards from the blind. I finally opened and closed a back window of the blind pretty hard a couple times and a couple of the older doe decided they didn't like that and the bunch followed them off.

 

[Ski]

Being that humans are cooperative hunters, it makes sense that voices are terrifying. Interesting study.

 

[RUGER]

Pretty neat.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Interesting study....makes sense to some degree....but I would love to see the experiment repeated in different regions to see how repeatable the results are.....good stuff.

 

[Headhunter]

don't even think it applies to most areas I hunt, in Tennessee and Kentucky. If that was true the deer would be in constant movement, especially in KY. Area is heavy agriculture, agriculture and people working it year round, and people riding 4 wheelers, atvs, etc. year round. We have zero control about people being there and most of the landowners let people ride outside of deer season all the time.

My favorite spot and the area around it, it is crazy, I can hear people at one house talking from almost a half mile away. No one believes it until you hear it. You know if a human can hear it, the deer can. If it spooked deer, then they wouldn't even be in that area of woods.

I use to love for to get a phone call when in a tree in a couple places in middle Tennessee. It happened so many times that a deer and sometimes a nice buck would show up after I had been on the phone a few minutes, that I would get excited when someone called.

 

[megalomaniac]

They can get used to just about anything. That could be the reason they spooked more from wolf noise than coyote noise- they are used to coyote noise. I hunted by a golf course and people talked constantly but the deer didn't care.

This exactly... too bad they didn't test some other nonnatural noise with the others... such as the sound of a dishwasher running.

 

[Snake]

don't even think it applies to most areas I hunt, in Tennessee and Kentucky. If that was true the deer would be in constant movement, especially in KY. Area is heavy agriculture, agriculture and people working it year round, and people riding 4 wheelers, atvs, etc. year round. We have zero control about people being there and most of the landowners let people ride outside of deer season all the time.

My favorite spot and the area around it, it is crazy, I can hear people at one house talking from almost a half mile away. No one believes it until you hear it. You know if a human can hear it, the deer can. If it spooked deer, then they wouldn't even be in that area of woods.

I use to love for to get a phone call when in a tree in a couple places in middle Tennessee. It happened so many times that a deer and sometimes a nice buck would show up after I had been on the phone a few minutes, that I would get excited when someone called.

Should have had people call you . I cut mine off when I'm hunting, had a deer spooked from a call once that did me in .

 

[backyardtndeer]

Good study. Deer in areas where they regularly hear people at a distance likely don't get as boogered out as they would in deep woods where they likely never hear humans. I have watched deer in my field, while I could hear people in the farm next to mine. The deer were not too bothered. They definitely heard them though and they did pay attention, but they continued feeding.

I have had my wife walk out to try to scare deer off when I have been stuck in the stand. She yelled and clapped her hands and the deer just casually walked off.

I do believe deer have much better hearing than some may give them credit for. I would put their hearing close to that of a dog's.

 

[Ski]

What I'd like to know is if they are instinctively fearful of humans and conditioned not to in some cases, or if they aren't instinctively fearful but get conditioned to be so by hunters.

 

[Shed Hunter]

Deer are pretty unique animals. I think their ability to sense danger is a very delicate one and much deeper than we would ever imagine. I have walked straight up to deer on public land even during season (have witnesses) without them spooking. It should go without saying it's not actually that hard to believe though. Animals (including humans) have always been known to have some strange intuition to know when something is out of the normal. We've all had that eerie feeling that something was wrong and it was. In general I think deer will be cautious of humans, but in many cases they are aware of the human is not a threat even if it is in an area they aren't conditioned to humans being harmless

 

[FLTENNHUNTER1]

I'd bet they used voice's of people from New York.

I'd run away quickly too!

 

[DMD]

In my observations, deer are a lot like humans about noises. They adapt and they become accustomed to noises. Some deer associate a certain noise with danger, while others don't associate that same noise with danger. A human who lives next to a gun range won't even flinch if they hear a gun being shot near their home. Someone else hears a gunshot near their home, they will jump out of their skin. Also, deer are excellent a judging the distances from which noises are made. A deer hears a voice 200 yards away, they might not even lift their head, they hear a whispered voice at 40 yards, they will get extremely nervous.

 

[Deer Assassin]

good information in here

 

[BSK]

First, I want to commend the researchers and Lindsay (the author) for pointing out something critical most people and hunters don't realize or understand. Humans are THE #1 predator of white-tailed deer, and we have been for a very long time. We hunters are the #1 cause of death for deer. That is really something to think about. We talk about how prey animals adapt to their greatest threats, yet then think of ourselves as something other than that. White-tailed deer have been adapting to their #1 predator - humans - for 10,000 years. They've become VERY good at it.

Very well-designed study. But I'm shocked by the results. From my own observations, I've been amazed at how little deer react to a low human voice. Back before smart phones, the hunters on my place kept in touch through 2-way radios. I can't express how many times I've been able to talk in a low tone on a radio while deer are within 30 yards of me. Not once have they ever turned an ear towards me. In fact, this lack of attention to the human voice has really been a conundrum. I would have expected violent reaction.

Now make any metallic sound, even a very faint one, and deer blast away.

 

[redblood]

I think it depends on the heard. The deer here at my farm have absolutely no fear of me, because they know they aint getting shot. They watch me change cell cams and freshen salt and dont even get up


Even 4.5 yr old bucks at 12 yards

 

[UCStandSitter]

I wish they'd played the sound of someone suckin down an oatmeal cream pie. That's data I could really use! I never talk in the woods

 

[Ski]

I can't express how many times I've been able to talk in a low tone on a radio while deer are within 30 yards of me. Not once have they ever turned an ear towards me. In fact, this lack of attention to the human voice has really been a conundrum. I would have expected violent reaction.

It's not just deer. When I was stationed in Alaska, one of my first in-briefings was with fish & game explaining the dangers of Alaska wildlife. Something the rep said stuck with me and proved quite true. He said if you encounter a bear or moose, it's quite possible the animal has never before encountered a human being so they're often curious. To spook them off, speak forcefully & purposefully to them like you would with a dog, and it usually will trigger a flight response. It actually works, even on grizzlies. Human voice triggers something.

While studying anthropology at NMSU I learned that hunting in cooperative parties and thereby needing audible communication is how humans initially developed language. While partially true, being a believer in creation I am more of a mind that God gave us the ability of language from the beginning, not something monkeys evolved into. That said, I do 100% believe animals' instinctive fear of the human voice likely does come from hunting parties. No doubt our ancestors were quiet as they combed the hunting grounds in search of prey, but soon as the attack began there would have been loud commands & acknowledgements being barked from multiple locations as they closed in for the kill. I'd say it was a whole lot like a modern deer drive. If I see deer but don't have a shot I will jump up & down, waving my arms yelling at the deer to turn them, then yell at the other hunters alerting them that deer are coming and where to be looking. That's the last thing some of those deer hear before dying, and the survivors learn. Over tens or hundreds of thousands of years it becomes part of their DNA, just like we humans have a natural fear of snakes. So while a low tone mumbling might not even twist an ear, a broadcasted business negotiation/conversation would likely be instantly terrifying because it means imminent death. Sure they can be conditioned to ignore the instinct just like we can learn to like snakes, but the instinct remains. With truly wild deer I could see how a human voice is the most terrifying sound it hears.

 

[UCStandSitter]

It's not just deer. When I was stationed in Alaska, one of my first in-briefings was with fish & game explaining the dangers of Alaska wildlife. Something the rep said stuck with me and proved quite true. He said if you encounter a bear or moose, it's quite possible the animal has never before encountered a human being so they're often curious. To spook them off, speak forcefully & purposefully to them like you would with a dog, and it usually will trigger a flight response. It actually works, even on grizzlies. Human voice triggers something.

While studying anthropology at NMSU I learned that hunting in cooperative parties and thereby needing audible communication is how humans initially developed language. While partially true, being a believer in creation I am more of a mind that God gave us the ability of language from the beginning, not something monkeys evolved into. That said, I do 100% believe animals' instinctive fear of the human voice likely does come from hunting parties. No doubt our ancestors were quiet as they combed the hunting grounds in search of prey, but soon as the attack began there would have been loud commands & acknowledgements being barked from multiple locations as they closed in for the kill. I'd say it was a whole lot like a modern deer drive. If I see deer but don't have a shot I will jump up & down, waving my arms yelling at the deer to turn them, then yell at the other hunters alerting them that deer are coming and where to be looking. That's the last thing some of those deer hear before dying, and the survivors learn. Over tens or hundreds of thousands of years it becomes part of their DNA, just like we humans have a natural fear of snakes. So while a low tone mumbling might not even twist an ear, a broadcasted business negotiation/conversation would likely be instantly terrifying because it means imminent death. Sure they can be conditioned to ignore the instinct just like we can learn to like snakes, but the instinct remains. With truly wild deer I could see how a human voice is the most terrifying sound it hears.

I agree with everything other than "natural fear of snakes". There is nothing natural about my fear of snakes. Kill all the danger noodles.

 

[BSK]

So while a low tone mumbling might not even twist an ear, a broadcasted business negotiation/conversation would likely be instantly terrifying because it means imminent death.

I can see the difference. In the study, the sounds were broadcast at 70 Db. That's actually pretty loud. I would guess my radio conversations were way less than half that.

 

[TheLBLman]

Now make any metallic sound, even a very faint one, and deer blast away.

And, those "metallic" sounds are the main reason I don't like hunting from a metal ladder stand.
They have a tendency to make some loud "metallic" sounds on those cold, crisp mornings, as well as when you least expect it.

Immeasurable how many great mornings have been blown by a hunter climbing his ladder stand, spooking deer he never knew were hearing that. On those cold, crisp, windless mornings, deer 300-plus yds away may hear you "slipping" into your ladder stand.

Another sound I've found to badly spook deer is the tearing sound of velcro. Remove it from your deer-hunting clothes, replace with rubber buttons.

 

[Mescalero]

I don't know about this study. 70 decibels, "about as loud as your dishwasher". What does that mean? There are very quiet dishwashers and loud ones and numerous in between. I know "70 decibels", what does that mean? Would have been a better study using sound of Velcro, sound of climbing into a ladder stand, sound using a climbing stand, sound of a carabiner just touching metal oh so slightly, sound of a zipper on a backpack, sound of a twig snap, blowing your nose, or at least the sound I make whispering under my breath when I get pissed about something like "where the F is the stand" or "damn this tangled pull up rope."

 

[TheLBLman]

I know this is about deer, but, I took an avid deer-hunting friend turkey hunting one time, trying to help him kill his first longbeard. The evening before, I had roosted two Toms.

We slipped in to under 100 yds of their roost tree before light. Turkey gobbles loudly on the roost, then he loudly pumps a shell into the chamber of his pump gun. Of course, we neither heard nor saw anything after that. Same guy would slam his truck door loudly when he got out to go hunting. Think he later became a vegetarian.

 

[Ski]

70 decibels is also a vacuum cleaner. Big difference between dishwasher and vacuum cleaner. Decibels are the measurement of sound pressure level, but doesn't do a thing to indicate tonal frequency, which IMO is what actually matters in the study. For instance the screech of a crow and the roar of a lion are similar in sound pressure level, but which would make you poop your pants if you heard it right next to you?