Speaking of the unusual...

[covert]

I encountered something today in the woods that I've never seen before.  I went to the spot where I got the drop tine buck during muzzleloader to see if anything had cleaned up the gut pile and when I got to the spot where he died I found it all tramped up with deer tracks and the whole spot had been pissed on.  I estimate the area to be about 4' x 6'.  The whole spot was yellowed up and a mass of deer tracks.  Anyone ever see anything like that?  It's almost like they were marking up the area where he dropped?

[Lawdwaz]

On more than one ocassion I've had them walk amongst and in a gut pile from the day before.

[covert]

I could pick out at least five different sets of tracks coming in from three different directions right to this spot.  Looked like yesterday probably?  I'll have to try and get over there tomorrow and snap a picture of it.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I have seen reports of whitetails actually scavenging from available sources. A gut pile would seem to be an easy mark. They  certainly don't know what that pile is from I wouldn't think.

[phade]

I've seen deer eat corn out of a gut pile contents.

 

Thought it was crazy, but it's not really when you think about it.

[Doc]

I have seen deer tracks in the snow that followed my exact drag of a harvested buck that spanned a bit more than a mile. In other words this deer had tracked me and my dead deer from over the hill down to my yard. Why did it do that? It would appear that it was scent tracking the blood trail from the drag. Was that something sexual in nature? Related to curiosity? Was the motivation similar to what was going on in the original post?

 

There's still an awful lot that we don't know about these critters isn't there?

[WNYBuckHunter]

Ive seen trail cam pics of deer eating from and nosing through gut piles. They dont know what the pile is from. Also, think about it, you are leaving all kinds of scent from that deer in that spot, including the urine from the bladder. Maybe the other deer are almost treating it similar to a scrape.

[EagleCrag]

I find it hard to believe that a deer doesn't know what a gut pile is.  I've never seen deer eating from a gut pile so won't comment on that aspect, but they certainly have to smell the scent of a deer.  Perhaps they are led to the scene by smell and then are curious about what happened.  I'm sure they recognize the scent of a deer they knew as well.  I agree with DOC, there's still an awful lot we don't know.

[WNYBuckHunter]

I find it hard to believe that a deer doesn't know what a gut pile is.

 

Why? They are instinctual animals, not logical thinkers.