When A Wild Animal Adopts A Human

Reader Contribution by Bruce Mcelmurray
Published on July 7, 2014
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I have previously written about us being adopted by a buck deer. How when he and his brother were still fawns while I was gathering limbs and clearing our lot his mother found me interesting and followed me around for most of the day. Always maintaining a distance of around 15 to 20 feet, but where I went she went and her two fawns were right there too. About how a few years later the two fawns returned as full grown bucks. How the one we called Junior came back year after year until one time he did not come back and we felt certain he had died of old age or other means. I could write about several interactions between myself and Junior but I will try not to be redundant and repeat any prior stories.

Wild Animals Showing Trust

Before every conservation officer, game warden or hunter who reads this becomes upset it is not about making a pet of a wild animal but instead about a human which a wild animal chose to befriend. From the very first time Junior returned he walked right up to me like he had known me his whole life and displayed total trust. It was a little daunting at first but slowly I gained trust in him as well. He would let me rub his nose and pick ice balls or ticks off him and if my clothes became caught on his antlers he would stand still while I un-hooked us. I’m sure those antlers can be deadly in certain cases but Junior never once showed the least bit of hostility toward me. He would actually make little mewing sounds when he was getting affection.

Non-Verbal Animal Communication

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