Where I live in rural East Texas, we see deer roaming in the meadows several times a week, particularly during certain seasons. However, recently, my wife saw something that took even her by surprise (she has lived in the country for a long time). She went out to the back deck to feed a young raccoon that comes to eat every evening (a whole ‘nother story) just before dusk and she was astonished to see a full-grown deer jump the fence out of our back garden, run into the yard, and take off down the driveway. She hollered for me to come to see, astonished at what she was seeing.
She explained that while she’s seen deer out here for years, she’s never had one jump out of the garden that way. I wish I could have been out there with her to see it. They are such majestic creatures, aren’t they? There are two main groups of deer, and the kind we see here in Texas are the white-tailed deer and the mule deer. In fact, the whitetail deer population in Texas is close to four million, which is one of the largest in the entire country. You can easily distinguish the two natives types of deer in Texas by their ecology and physical appearance. Nevertheless, there are some exotic types, too.
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In addition to the two types of native deer mentioned above, people have been introducing exotic species for hunting purposes, which seems gross to me, but whatever. The white-tailed deer is an evolutionarily ancient North American deer. Their name comes from the snowy underside of the tail, which they flash at predators when they’re afraid. Mule deers are so named because of their large ears, and they’re a small deep species in Texas.
In the video below, a couple is watching a group of deer out their window when suddenly, the man sneezes, scaring the deer away. His wife’s reaction is priceless, and so is his.