After watching wildlife my entire life, I am convinced that they are not only smarter than a 5th grader, they are more likely smarter than any of us in the human race. When I use the term of "wildlife" I am also including the species of birds and fishes. When you consider, they can predict the weather and move from one area to another to avoid foul weather without the aid of televised weather reports or Doppler radar. The majority of our waterfowl and a wide variety of species of birds will migrate thousands of miles twice a year without the aid of a map, chart, or even a GPS. Our salmon species will go to sea as fry and return to their parent stream 2 to 6 years later, again without the aid of navigational devices. Yet, our wildlife, fish, and birds are often called stupid, "stupid is as stupid does".

On my recent trip, I saw a great example of just how smart our wildlife is. In an area that I was visiting, Deer Season had just open but only for the specie of Mule Deer. Hunters were running all over the country in their flame orange vest to keep from getting shot. During the hunting season, if you are using horses in your hunt for packing, it is best to tie "flame orange" survey tape to their manes. This is done to protect them from getting shot by some hunter who can and does mistake a horse for a deer or elk. Even the wildlife are aware that a lot of hunters in the field cannot properly identify one specie of animal from another nor their legality in regards to size of horns or sex. During my trip, since Mule Deer season was open, we found this Whitetail Buck, that made sure all hunters knew what specie of deer he was. Yet, we call them stupid!


"I Am NOT A Mule Deer, I Am A Whitetail Deer!"

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