A deer's memory ?

[fasteddie]

I often wondered how good and how long a deer's memory was . For instance , you walk to your stand in the dark and spook a deer . Does the deer remember that spot and avoid it or approach it with caution the next time ? If a deer spots you in a tree , does it remember that spot and avoid it ? Curious .....

[SplitG2]

I say older deer do remember but the yearlings not so sure.  This past weekend I had a 4 1/2 old buck step into the powerline 45 yards from my permanent stand and as soon as he stepped out he looked up at the stand and saw there was something different about it(yeah me and the camera man)  he didn't blow but did not stick around.

[First-light]

Hard to tell, but how many times do you get a second chance at a nice buck after you fumbled the first, not many. A deers needs is to survive by eating and breeding it can't do it without being alive. So with that said I believe that

there isn't a "wait I can't go that way cause a hunter was there yesterday" thought but subconscious process that takes place in its mind. It keeps the deer out of harms way by the way its brain logs in bad experiences.

In other words for me a deer doesn't have much of a memory but has great instincts!

[wztirem]

I believe that Deer possess a long term memory. They can surelay recall the location of a particular hole in a fence and a food source.

In addition, they remember where to cross roads where the deer crossing signs are located ;D

[bubba]

A study i read a few years ago claimed that a deer only has about a 5 minute memory time.  Do I believe that? I am not sure. However as previously stated, a deer has a great instinct sense and the rely on it heavily.

[bushnell]

Agreed. I believe it is more instinct and pattern then it is memory.

[Doc]

It does make you wonder ......  Deer are creatures of habit (mostly) and one would think that it takes some kind of memory in order to establish habits. But that's just a guess. Chances are that the deer that do have a good memory are the live ones ..... lol.

Doc

[bubba]

I have seen some who dont seem like they forget easily.  A few years ago, I shot a 6 point in an alfalfa filed. When I shot him, there were 11 other deer out there.  They just looked at him until I stepped into the field, then they spooked off.  I drug the deer to the edge o the field and cleaned it up.  After I tagged it, I left it there as it was about 3 PM. I got back into the blind and about 5 minutes later, the rest of the deer came back out to graze.  If they had an intact memory, you would think that they would remember what happened 20 minutes before and that there as danger in the field.  I also filled my DMP that day about 4 PM. 

[First-light]

Too much of a good thing, happens to us humans also until we get busted, still some come back!

[biggamefish]

  I hunt high presured areas on state land and the older bucks and does seem to walk around with there eyes in the sky.  The younger ones not so much.  The most wary seem to be the old does.  I have put up new treestands where there where none before and a doe will walk in looking up.  I don't know if that is memory or just an instinct because that is where the danger comes from.  I do know it sure pisses me off when they do an about turn and never get close enough.  All in a good days hunt though.

[mxsmitz201]

IMO... i think a lot of it has to do with smell.  I think they use their nose more so than remembering in order to cross a fence or any of that.  and i believe that instinct sense you all are talking about is in fact their extremely powerful sniffer.

I have seen some who dont seem like they forget easily.  A few years ago, I shot a 6 point in an alfalfa filed. When I shot him, there were 11 other deer out there.  They just looked at him until I stepped into the field, then they spooked off.  I drug the deer to the edge o the field and cleaned it up.  After I tagged it, I left it there as it was about 3 PM. I got back into the blind and about 5 minutes later, the rest of the deer came back out to graze.  If they had an intact memory, you would think that they would remember what happened 20 minutes before and that there as danger in the field.  I also filled my DMP that day about 4 PM. 

exactly, this leads me to believe its about their noses doing most of the work.  IMO i think your kills scent in the field allowed for the other deer to return, whether he was dead or alive, he still smelled like a deer lol and that said it was ok to be in that field. 

and if someone would argue about your scent in the field keeping them at bay, i would say your kill acted as a cover scent just like how i use doe urine.

[Doc]

I do believe that deer do "learn". I have seen them change patterns due to human disturbances. I have seen it claimed that deer respond to the noise of a feeder that's on a timer. Deer know how to find their way back to an oak woods without having to stumble on to it each day. I don't think that it is scent that tells them how to get back there. There are also danger responses that are learned from their mothers. They seem to be able to repeat those foot stomps and head bobs and that stiff legged walk without ever getting them mixed up. There must be some memory being used there, at least at first until it becomes engrained behavior. After all, I have never seen them forget and get that stuff all mixed up and start stomping their head or bobbing there legs ..... lol. 

If they can learn, they must have memory.

Doc