As I scanned a field this morning at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I suddenly became aware of a pair of eyes staring back at me from the high vegetation. We shared a couple of moments of eye-to-eye contact before the handsome buck turned around and disappeared from sight.
There is an overabundance of White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in our area and as part of an effort to maintain the deer herd at a healthy level compatible with planned habitat goals and objectives, the wildlife refuge will be closed for several days in December for deer hunting. I know that topic of deer hunting is controversial to some, but the unfortunate alternative would be deer starving to death or being hit by cars as they seek to forage elsewhere. Still, it’s a little hard for me emotionally to look at this beautiful animal with the knowledge that someone else might soon be shooting at him with a gun rather than with a camera.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Beautiful animal and beautiful shot!
Very nice, Mike. He’s lucky you’re holding a camera.
Thanks, Dan. I suspect that the view through my telephoto lens was approximately the same one a hunter would have had with a scope. I had some experience with firearms during my career in the Army, but hunting is not something that I think that I could do.
I tend to agree, Mike. I love watching them.
Beautiful portrait. Despite the fact I see deer all the time, I still find it magical to encounter them. There’s just something about them that’s so captivating.
Thanks, Laura. I don’t see deer very often and they usually take flight when we have an encounter, so it was specially for me to be able to get a shot like this. I was so transfixed that I didn’t dare move–I didn’t want to break the spell.
He’s very noble-looking! I know what you mean about the hunting. I feel very ambivalent about it too. It’s too bad human hunters target the healthiest animals, unlike other predators, which usually go after the old, the sick, and the lame. We have 3 days of park closure here too (Seneca Creek State Park), usually in January, when the hunters come in and cull the deer.
I think we have similar feelings. We have several days of hunting in December when the park is closed. At another park where I photograph, they have a really extended “deer management” season, but the park is still open. The hunting is restricted to archers in tree stands and I am always very wary, because I have a tendency to wander.
It seems if there were more natural predators in the forest the deer population wouldn’t have to be culled by humans.
You are absolutely right. Some deer might starve if there is severe overpopulation, but in an urban area, I think the fear is that they will cause numerous accidents and potential injuries to people if/when they wander into the streets. There are coyotes in some areas of the wildlife refuge, but I don’t many people think the best solution would be for the coyote population to grow.
I’m a hunter at heart but I appreciate your point of view. Beautiful buck! I would give him a couple more years to mature before harvesting.
I too understand your point of view. If you are hunting for food rather than for pure sport or trophies, I have no problems at all. I live in a suburban area where the population of white-tailed deer is way to high–which is bad for both deer and drivers.
Check out my blog sometimes. I’m just now starting to post, but it’s nothing more than hunting stories from my childhood to present. I’m hoping to offer a window into the life of a hunter for the people who think we all hunt just to kill. It’s so much more than that.
I’m now following your blog. I grew up in the suburbs of Boston, so hunting is a very foreign experience for me. My stepson is a hunter and grew up hunting deer around Thanksgiving with family members. This past year he got a bow, though I am not sure if he actually went hunting with it. He is now stationed with the Army in Colorado and looks forward to hunting there.