Imagine for a moment what it was like learning about the white-tailed deer in the 1950s or 1960s. I know this period very well because I was a young farm kid who was becoming passionate about deer and deer hunting at that time. Unfortunately, there were very few resources available back then to help me learn about deer.
In the 1950s, very few people I knew had television, so there was no Versus Country, Wild TV, Sportsman Channel or Outdoor Channel to disseminate deer hunting information. Nor were there any pure deer hunting magazines to read on a monthly basis. About the only way a hunter could learn about whitetails was by spending time in the woods and tagging along with others who hunted.
Because most deer hunters where I grew up were recreational gun-hunters, who executed their craft by putting on deer drives, few knew anything about deer behavior. It wasn’t until I weaned myself of group hunting and took up the camera that my knowledge of white-tailed deer started to increase.
The learning curve was slow, but by the mid-1970s I was spending every possible hour either photographing or hunting whitetails. In the process I gained a great deal of respect for their ability to out-fox beast and man.
I’ve spent the last 30 years bushwhacking around North America pursuing big game. Without question, the whitetail’s running and jumping ability are head and shoulders above that of elk, moose, caribou, mule deer and mountain sheep. In fact, I’ve yet to find a wild animal that has the whole physical package like white-tailed deer. They consistently elude both man and beast because of five factors. Here they are, in order of importance.
1. Sense of Smell
Of the five ways a whitetail beats us, its ability to smell is its No. 1 resource. If you can beat a whitetail’s nose, you have a chance of being a successful hunter.
Over the years, I’ve heard all kinds of claims about how well whitetails can smell. It’s been said they can smell 1,000 to 4,000 times better than humans. Truth is, we don’t know for sure.
Just how well can deer smell? Well, through work at my deer research facility, I have learned that deer can easily find an ear of corn buried under a foot of snow … if the deer walks within 15 feet of it.
Also, we’ve rolled apples for 30 yards across cut grass fields (when no deer were present) to see if deer could find the apple when it came to the field to feed. What we’ve found is that if the deer can cut the apple’s trail within 10 minutes of it being rolled across the grass, it will have no problem smelling where the apple rolled and tracking it down.
Our most impressive finding to date was discovered by accident. The distance between our high-fenced enclosure’s south fence line and the nearest cover is 425 yards. During the rut, when there is a wind out of the south, our bucks pace the south fence, staring across open space toward the woods where wild deer are bedded. As they stand statuesque they often sniff and test the wind coming from the woods’ direction. This reveals two things: They can smell other deer at least 425 yards away, and bucks can sift through all kinds of odors to pick up the smell of an estrous doe.
That’s impressive!
2. Hearing
The whitetail’s ability to hear doesn’t garner nearly the same respect as its ability to smell, but it should. We are still learning about the
whitetail’s ability to hear different sounds. Research conducted at the University of Georgia reveals that normal whitetail hearing ranges from 20 hertz (sound frequency) to 30,000 hertz (human’s hearing range is 20 to 20,000 hertz).
Because deer seem to hear best in the 4,000 to 8,000 hertz range and humans best in the 2,000 to 5,000 hertz range, it appears on the surface that deer and humans have similar hearing abilities. However, there’s a distinct difference between the two.
Humans have small ears. Whitetails, on the other hand, have large cone shaped ears that are capable of pivoting in all directions. This benefit gives deer the ability to detect certain sounds quicker and from greater distances than humans. When you couple this with the fact deer are always on the alert for danger, it’s easy to see why they react to certain sounds much sooner than humans.
3. Eyesight
Whitetails might not possess the eyes of birds of prey, but you should never assume they cannot see as well as humans. Research done at the University of Georgia has shown that deer don’t have the same optic cellular structure as people, but they certainly have the rod/cone makeup to suggest they can see certain colors. Specifically, blues and yellows can most likely be seen by deer.
Deer see very well into the blue wavelength, so they are able to see extremely well in dim light. As a result, their nighttime vision is exceptional, equipping them with the ability to survive predation any time of the day or night.

Having eyes mounted on the side of their head allows whitetails to have a much greater field of view than humans, giving them the ability to scan the horizon and to detect objects beside or behind them. Because they can detect movement at 300 degrees, they have greater ability to detect danger.
University of Georgia research has revealed that the whitetail’s visual acuity is not as good as humans so it appears that deer do not see details quite as well. However, they have a tremendous ability to pick up the least movement. Any hunter who has been busted by a buck due to slight movement on his part can vouch for this.
4. Memory
Just because whitetails do not have the ability to reason as humans do, don’t think for a minute they are dumb creatures. What they are capable of remembering can make even the smartest person sit up and take notice.
Dennis Olson, author of Way of the Whitetail, writes a very fitting description relating to the whitetail’s intelligence.
“Of course, we value intellect as the trait of ‘higher’ animals. Deer are long on instinct and short on our version of logic. They are rather stupid, compared to us and our computers, satellites and complicated business deals. But, if just once we could let deer design an IQ test, the first question might be, which odors on the wind right now are edible, which are dangerous, and which are neutral? Who flunks the test?”
Olson’s quote reminds me of why whitetails so often outsmart me. I’ve seen first hand how whitetails remember from past experiences. The deer in my research enclosure never forget that the sound of corn rattling in a plastic can is a treat they cannot resist. Furthermore, after they are introduced to predators, they seem to never forget it. Their mind is like a sponge; the longer they live, the smarter they get. That’s why it’s difficult to hunt mature whitetails.
I’ve also observed the whitetail’s ability to remember things in their environment. One of the best examples is their ability to know the time of day, with or without sunlight. For the past 12 years, I’ve fed our research deer two hours before sundown. They know exactly when to show up at the feeding station and seldom do they arrive before the prescribed time. It’s incredible. Try getting a human to be on time like this, with or without a watch!
It just goes to show that deer are fast learners.
5. Athleticism
Although great eyesight, hearing and sense of smell are critical to any wild animal’s survival, incredible athletes are the most adept at survival.
The whitetail has few challengers when it comes to running ability. The top speed I’ve witnessed a whitetail run is slightly over 40 miles per hour. This is pretty impressive, considering the world’s fastest human, Usain Bolt of Jamaica, was clocked at around 25 miles per hour in his world-record setting 100-meter victory at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Of course, a whitetail really shines in an obstacle-strewn forest, where deadfalls, thick brush and other natural hazards are the norm. Certainly topography and natural conditions dictate a deer’s speed in each situation, but it’s safe to say that a mature whitetail can easily run 25 mph in a forest setting.
The whitetail is also blessed with unbelievable jumping ability. Although I’ve never seen deer consistently clear 8-foot-high fences with a running start, I have also seen them clear 7-foot fences with little effort from a standstill.
Finally, a whitetail’s horizontal jumping prowess surpasses its ability to clear high fences because of the huge chunks of ground it gobbles up with each bound. The furthest distance I’ve seen a deer leap (where I could actually measure the distance) is 29 feet.
Conclusion
When you marry the whitetail’s sheer athleticism to their ability to smell, see, and hear, is it any wonder why they continually makes fools of us hunters?
— Charles Alsheimer was D&DH’s senior contributing editor on deer behavior for more than 30 years.
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