Which is better

[Paula]

A deers eyes or hearing?

[Bolt action]

In my experience, the eyes are better than the ears. I recall reading an article years ago that discussed the anatomy of the deer eye. They're setup in such a way that deer can see movement along the same horizontal plane better than we can, but not as well above that plane. They're also better adapted to seeing at night or in general low light conditions. Both of these adaptations likely developed over time as a natural evolution of the species as they would help the deer be alerted to predators. As for the hearing, my understanding is that their ears are nothing special.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Their noses work well too. 

[Paula]

Forgot about the nose. 

[ApexerER]

I don't know the real answer to this but i think eyes.  While i believe they hear much better than us, it's their eyes seeing movement that they pay attention too.  Although, now that i think about it their ears are always moving as well. Hmmm

[ApexerER]

Just now, Paula said:

Forgot about the nose. 

That i would say is better than eyes or ears...

[Kmartinson]

Lol, the nose is prime. They can see and hear you well. Very hard to trick a wise mature deer.

[GreeneHunter]

I've always wondered how a Deer can run through the woods in the dark without running into a tree or whatever , If I didn't have a headlamp on walking to my tree stand in the dark i'd never find it ! I say Eyes !

Edited March 16, 2022 by GreeneHunter

[Grouse]

It is said a deer will need to verify with another sense what it sees or what it hears, but the nose KNOWS!

One whiff of human scent and no other confirmation is needed.

[grampy]

If a deer "hears" something........it will "look" to see what it is. 

[Grouse]

Or try to get downwind of what it hears.

[Bolt action]

The nose trumps the other two, hands down.

[Paula]

2 hours ago, GreeneHunter said:

I've always wondered how a Deer can run through the woods in the dark without running into a tree or whatever , If I didn't have a headlamp on walking to my tree stand in the dark i'd never find it ! I say Eyes !

I think I have a tiny scar from running into a tree Lol

[wolc123]

11 minutes ago, Bolt action said:

The nose trumps the other two, hands down.

Definitely true, and I would rate their eyes and ears about equal.  Their eyes can be fooled, if you move extremely slow.   All you need is wet leaves or heavy wind to fool their ears.  Their nose is tougher to work around, and is without doubt, their main defense.  

[chrisw]

Deer will pick you out with eyes before ears. Their ears are more to corroborate what they're seeing/smelling....

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[squirrelwhisperer]

No question their nose is their go to sense. I too would put the ears and eyes on the same level. 

[skully]

Deers eyes are really not that good.  Im not sure about there ears but i am pretty sure a humans eyes are actually better than a deers.......

[squirrelwhisperer]

1 minute ago, skully said:

Deers eyes are really not that good.  Im not sure about there ears but i am pretty sure a humans eyes are actually better than a deers.......

Not when it comes to night vision, for sure. We have them on color but that's it.

[Five Seasons]

the answer is the nose. A deer can see movement, but generally their eyes are not great. Their hearing is also directional and why you see them move and turn their ears to associate direction. This is different than our hearing and a little more complicated to fully describe here but there are some really good articles out there on their anatomy. 

[rachunter]

It’s all about the schnoz ola
Wind,wind,wind


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[G-Man]

Imo ears they can hear and keep trac of every sound in a 1/4 mile àrea for an adult deer

[cdbing]

IMHO deer's hearing is superior to its eyesight in that deer do not see as well as humans and predators in daylight though their field of view is wider. That said hunters can stay quiet or close to silent, but may have to move and haven't mastered invisibility yet, so vision may be more important to the deer for avoiding a hunter.

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