Score one for the mule deer.
California is home to an almost countless number of creatures, but perhaps none cooler than the mountain lion.
While their territory runs almost the entirety of the Americas (From southern Alaska to the southernmost part of Chile), California is home to one of the biggest populations in the United States, with an estimate of 4,000 to 6,000 in the wild, according to the California Department of Fish & Wildlife.
The Golden State is also home to a much sought after population of deer, by both humans and lions, the mule deer. They tend to weight between 100 and 220 pounds, so they are a bit larger than the more popular and well known white-tailed deer.
Each mountain lion eats around 48 “deer sized animals” per year, which puts the total number of deer consumed by mountain lions alone, just in California, at around 192,000 to 288,000 per year.
Safe to say, the lions typically win these battles…
But the CDFW gave us a treat a few years back when they released some vintage footage of a mule deer not only escaping the attack of a fully grown lion, but getting in its share of licks as well.
Really cool stuff.
Of course, the lion has to eat too, can’t deny that, but I don’t know what it is that makes people tend to root for the underdog… Maybe we’ve all seen Rocky a few too many times.
Bowhunter Grabs Bedding Mule Deer By The Antlers
I guess hunting a muley this big wasn’t enough for this hunter.
He had to get up to it and have a close look while it was living.
Getting close enough to a deer like this to shoot it is one thing, getting close enough to touch it is a whole other ball game… damn near impossible, actually.
The conditions must have been perfect with wind in his favor because deer, especially ones this big and old, have amazing senses. I mean, they all have pretty remarkable senses but ones this large have very impressive senses that have kept them alive for a while against all odds.
The video shows a man in full camo army crawling through tall grass. You notice a set of nice antlers sticking up in front of the hunter as he reaches out for them
This is a brave man… those things are certified weapons strapped to a wild animal.
He grabs right ahold of one of them and the buck doesn’t move. The hunter gives them a big shake before the deer stands up looks right at the man and runs off.
Either way, if a hunter is getting this close to a buck that’s this nice, you know he’s good at what he does.
