Do Deer "feel" your stare?

[Northcountryman]

Hey Guys. Just finished an article in my D&DH mag that I found most interesting and wanted to share; as my title indicates, it discussed a Deers (well, actually, animals , in general, to be honest)sixth sense , enabling them to "feel" when theyre being stared at and respond , accordingly.  This ability , apparently derives from a survival sense from countless Predator/ Prey interactions that gives them a survival advantage. I'm not sure I buy into this, though as Ive never detected a deer responding to my "stare"; what do you think? 

Edited September 18 by Northcountryman

[airedale]

Deer go into an alert mode because they either heard something not right, smelled something or saw some movement. That they have some kind of mental telepathy that alerts them to something of danger watching them sounds like a crock to me.

Al

[First-light]

I totally believe deer will detect your stare. I just try to move my eyes and not directly look at the deer. It's their 6th sense. Great you brought this up because it happens all the time. 

[Northcountryman]

Yeah, the author of the article stated that hes tried this on the neighbors dog.  He stared at the dog from his house as it lay outside on his leash; within  a minute or 2, the dog lifted up his head, looked directly across the yard at him , and started barking.  Dont know if true, but maybe! 

[Four Seasons]

22 hours ago, airedale said:

Deer go into an alert mode because they either heard something not right, smelled something or saw some movement. That they have some kind of mental telepathy that alerts them to something of danger watching them sounds like a crock to me.

Al

Well I believe they do have something extra in their makeup. Although your spot on I have done kinda the same with my captive herd. Say if I want to move a few deer from pen to pen and have to get around them to do it if I don’t look at them while they stand 20-30 feet away from me and pretend I’m just walking on by they will stand there and watch me. If I look at them while doing that they seem to get the jidders per se and will take off.  But of course every one of them are different. 

[airedale]

I was not referring to Deer aware of my presence, I have stared at and watched Deer countless times while hunting, I have never had one detect me unless I did something to make them aware of me. If I get busted it is because of what I mentioned above, a change in the wind, some movement or a noise I made, not because of some mystical telepathy that I was watching them.

Al

Edited September 19 by airedale

[Gobbler Chaser]

When close I always squint and even keep one eye closed

[Doc]

If you have ever watched that program on TV, you know that Cesar Milan (a phenomenal dog trainer) believes and demonstrates with every program that dogs can detect the human owner's mental state and anxiety and all kinds of our mental emotions, and react accordingly. I found this to be unbelievable at first but after watching several programs. I have become a believer. It is like they are reading your mind. Do deer have similar abilities? Who knows?

[airedale]

Having spent a good part of my life training hunting dogs I totally agree they can detect human's mental state and emotions, but then again they are in your presence and are watching you when these things occur.

I do know that Deer and other animals like cattle, sheep and goats have eyesight with the ability to detect the very slightest movement.

Al

https://deerassociation.com/facts-about-deer-vision/

[Gobbler Chaser]

I like to wear these when in the stand to hide my eyes

[fasteddie]

19 hours ago, Gobbler Chaser said:

When close I always squint and even keep one eye closed

My oldest son does this and says it works . He also wears a Boonie Hat and slowly tips his head to hide his eyes .

 

[jperch]

I think it's just that a pair of eyeballs staring in your direction stands out a little in the woods.  You really can't mistake it for anything other than a critter, and in out case, a large critter.  For that reason when a deer is very close to me and facing me I sometimes close my left eye.