When it comes to seeing deer, Alma Otto might have one of the best vantage points in all of Maine.
She lives in a former farm on College Avenue in Orono near the University of Maine, on the edge of a large field that experiences a ton of deer traffic.
Since it’s only possible to hunt parts of Marsh Island — between the Penobscot and Stillwater rivers — using a bow and arrow, the deer population in Otto’s neighborhood is considerable.
“It’s well-known in town, and we have locals and strangers stopping by to take pictures,” Otto said.
Even with the frequency of deer sightings in and around her yard — and in her garden — sometimes there are mysterious sightings.
“Late one afternoon earlier this summer, I saw a deer lying with its head up in our south field near our barn,” Otto said. “One deer approached and lay down next to the deer for a while. For several hours, other deer were approaching from different directions, coming close to it for a few minutes and then heading back into the woods. Finally all the deer had left. It seemed as if this deer might have a special relationship to them.”
Otto didn’t know exactly what was going on with the deer, whether it was sick, injured or something else.
Nathan Bieber, deer biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, explained some common deer dynamics.
“This time of year, deer are mostly still in two different social groups: bachelor groups of bucks or solo bucks, and female familial groups or solo does,” Bieber said.
This was probably a group of female deer that are related, he said.
“Sounds like four or five deer, so I’d guess a doe, her female offspring from last year, and her current-year fawns, or perhaps her female offspring from the last couple of years if she didn’t have any surviving fawns this year,” Bieber said.
Otto continued to keep an eye on the happenings in the yard, and it didn’t take long to see more interesting deer interactions.
“The next day, the deer was lying down in the field north of our barn in the early evening. Four deer stood near it,” Otto said. “A woman accompanied by a dog on a long leash walked by on the nearby sidewalk. Three of the deer walked very slowly and cautiously toward the dog, while the smallest deer stayed behind and watched the deer that was still lying down.”
Otto said it looked like the deer were protecting the one lying down from predators.
“When [the deer] had progressed halfway to the dog, the resting deer had gotten up and headed for the woods with the smaller deer. The other deer then bounded after them,” Otto said.
But Bieber said it was more likely curiosity among the deer.
“It doesn’t sound like they were very concerned about the dog and owner,” he said. “I can’t pretend to know what goes through a deer’s head, but it seems pretty clear they were curious and trying to better assess the situation rather than alarmed and looking to immediately flee.”
Although Otto has since put an electric fence around her garden to help protect it from animals, she continues to enjoy the presence of the deer — along with the skunks, foxes, woodchucks and other critters in the neighborhood.
She was amazed by the close encounter between the animals.
“The sight of those deer walking toward a possible predator will long remain in my memories,” she said.
