Cross-species communication

Last evening, as the dogs and I walked around the outskirts of our college on the hill, we came upon the family of deer that we know and that know us.

Again, two of them made as if to come toward us, a large doe and her fawn, although I think the latter was just literally following in his/her mother's footsteps. Rusty and Geni were riveted, ears cocked, goofy-dog-looks on high, tongues hanging and much yelping and jumping and pulling at their leashes as the strange and beautiful large-dog-looking creatures continued to approach.

It suddenly occurred to me that perhaps the doe wasn't approaching, as I've been thinking, out of curiosity and desire to engage in cross-species communication. Instead, perhaps she approaches us with every intention of charging us and ridding herself and her baby of our impending threat. This, I realized, would be unlikely, but ultimately possible. And leave it to me to be the one to run into the one assertive doe out there, for sure.

Thus, I decided to stop looking directly at her and to move sideways away, trying to convey through my movements at least (the dogs just wanted off leash so they could chase the strange and beautiful large-dog-looking creatures back into the forest) that we were absolutely no threat. The change in demeanor and direction stopped her in her tracks and she simply observed us warily for a few minutes.

Then, the other fawn, smaller and more of a scaredy cat (or perhaps simply smarter in evolutionary terms) than his/her cousin or sibling, bounded into the woods with his/her mom hot in pursuit. My doe looked our way one more time and then followed her sister, followed closely by her kid.

There was no calming the dogs, who kept excitedly smelling every spot they found on our walk that offered an interesting odor, seemingly memorizing the difference between dog and deer smell and pondering the difference.

But I learned my lesson. Next time I see the family of deer that we know and that know us, I'll make sure not to romanticize the possibility of some kind of cross-species communication. Instead, I'll remember that if I were that wild doe, I'd be more than ready to attack the human and her strange little-deer-looking creatures at any hint that my kid was in danger.