Monday 28 October 2013

Tigger came by for a visit!

2013 Peek!
Well, I think it was Tigger.
My faithful readers will appreciate how much we adored our buddy Tigger. He followed Oliver cat when Ollie and I went walkies. Tigger's brother would keep a distance away. A noisy ghost in the forest, shuffling leaves as we walked.

Close-up 2013
Tigger was a character. He'd bounce around, brave with us 4-legged ones, with the other deer hovering in the distance. I came upon him once, in Oliver's Lot. His antler's were just growing. He didn't flinch. You could tell who it was by his behaviour.

I always talk to them. They know the difference between us and anyone else, running away if we have visitors. They know that the neighbours hunt them with their baited tree stands. It sounded like they were target shooting this morning. It does frighten me. We paid $600 to have our property surveyed and marked, as they were hunting on our property. I was afraid of a bullet whizzing by, as has happened to our friends in Bala. The bullet embedded itself in his wall. He was lucky.

Young Tigger summer 2011
I think I saw Tigger today (above right). It could have been his brother. It's hard to say. It could be another deer totally, but I am a romantic!

Tigger and his female relatives
You can tell by their rack. It grows the same each year. I didn't get a good look. I even got dressed and went out with the camera, but he was gone. Deer shed hunting for Family Day

I'd like to think it was Tigger, or his brother. It is comforting.

They were born in 2010. These critters only last 3 - 5 years. And I heard guns in the forest this morning. What can I say?

Tigger is unusual, since he'll visit with, I think, his female relatives, as well as his brother. Usually the males and females hang out in gender-based packs.

He is the one deer who wasn't afraid of us. I'd meet him on Oliver's Lot and he'd pop up his head, then ignore me. He wasn't like this with everyone. He couldn't be, as our neighbours hunt in their forest adjacent to ours. he's doing well to last this long.

Tigger and Ollie 2011
Wait for me! Tigger and Ollie
Tigger and his brother last year
Here is Tigger another year. note the 3-point rack.

19 comments:

Jackie McGuinness said...

I'm sure it was Tigger!!
Why do people (men) feel the need to hunt these beautiful animals?

Thanks for dropping by and visiting me.

Anonymous said...

Oh gorgeous wildlife photography ~ love the deer and thanks so much for coming by ~ Happy Week to you ~ carol, xx

magiceye said...

So fascinating!!

Kay L. Davies said...

I'm sure it must have been Tigger, checking to see if his friends were still there.
K

Unknown said...

To Jackie Mc Guinness: in Ontario hunting is not only legal but also (and therefore) socially acceptable. Hunting is not gender specific and not all hunters are poachers and trespassers. I encourage all to join the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and to read the Ontario Out Of Doors magazine or visit their website.

Christine said...

wonder what happened to his brother. Sigh.

A Joyful Cottage said...

This is the second place we've lived where deer visit daily. They are elegant creatures. There are many women here who hunt deer. Personally, we're not hunters. Except with cameras. Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving the comment. I appreciate it very much.

Red said...

We can certainly be curious about the individual animals. There are differences as you point out. If we saw the same animal more often we would recognize differences.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
Yes, that looks like a 3-pointer to me! Oh I do hope he gets to live his full quota by nature... Hunting for food I can never condemn. Hunting for sport?..

BLAH!

Stay safe yourselves too - bullets have no respect for marked boundaries.

YAM xx

eileeninmd said...

Tigger is so cute! Wonderful photos!

Karen said...

We have a few deer hanging around the garden every year when hunting season starts. You can't tell me they don't know where they are safe!

Kay said...

Oh my! They are such beautiful creatures. You're so lucky to be able to see them in their natural habitat.

Stewart M said...

Nice set of pictures!

I have just posted another "wordy" post - about walking - on my blog if you have a few minutes spare.

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

Jenn Jilks said...

Hunting in areas like ours is socially acceptable in some circles, but it is so sad. It keeps the population in check, but with road kills, I'm not sure we need it!

Hunters are too close around here. The noise frightens. To hunt on a mere 35 acres next door to our 16 acres, with much of it bog, doesn't seem right. In addition, their hunt camp is off their property and on another. They haven't had it surveyed. Ian Millar's horses cannot be happy with the noise. To spend all day in target practice is terribly annoying.

Many in the north use the meat to feed families, but with locavore farms, such as beef, bison, sheep, etc., it is just a sport that I do not understand! There are remote areas when they can go.

Judy said...

It is wonderful to have that sort of continuity, year after year!! I did not know that wild deer only live a few years!!!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I am sure it was Tigger....(magical thinking often works for me). I don't "get" hunting either.

Unknown said...

May I clarify....poachers and trespassers are not hunters, they are poachers and trespassers, same as how non-hunters can be trespassers. Hunting is legal, socially acceptable, and a very enjoyable way of life. I would encourage you to ask your neighbours if you could sit on a stand with them sometime. If you're lucky they may offer you some of their delicious wild game which is also very healthy! It sounds like you have had bad experience with hunters in the past, I might offer that they may not have been real hunters but simply rude people...but then again, it all depends on how they were approached.

Unknown said...

May I clarify....poachers and trespassers are not hunters, they are poachers and trespassers, same as how non-hunters can be trespassers. Hunting is legal, socially acceptable, and a very enjoyable way of life. I would encourage you to ask your neighbours if you could sit on a stand with them sometime. If you're lucky they may offer you some of their delicious wild game which is also very healthy! It sounds like you have had bad experience with hunters in the past, I might offer that they may not have been real hunters but simply rude people...but then again, it all depends on how they were approached.

TexWisGirl said...

hard to get attached to wildlife...