We don’t normally associate deer with the type of animal that would follow humans around.
However, it does in fact happen on rare occasions. Especially with fawns that have become separated from their mothers.
In the majority of cases there is no need to be concerned. The deer is simply curious but remember, this doesn’t give you permission to approach or touch the animal.
If a deer follows you, there are 7 important tips to remember: Remain Calm, Back Away Slowly, Keep your Distance, Avoid Eye Contact, Speak Softly, Observe your Surroundings, and Seek Help if Necessary!
Remain Calm
First and foremost, it’s important that you stay calm if you find a deer following you.
Acting nervous and frantically will only frighten the deer and cause it to act unpredictably.
This could result in injury to you and/or the deer in a worst case scenario.
Try to keep your wits about you and remember, this isn’t a bear chasing you!
Back Away Slowly
When you initially realize a deer is following you, try to slowly back away as this is often sufficient.
Refrain from abruptly turning around and running as this will be confusing to the deer.
The last thing you want to do is cause the animal to become stressed and act unpredictably.
If this isn’t working, slowly turn around and begin moving away from it.
Keep your Distance
If possible, try to put some distance between yourself and the deer.
Increase the speed of your walking but don’t enter a full-on sprint.
Do your absolute best to slowly pull away from the deer so it begins to lose interest.
Hopefully if you can get far enough away from it, the deer will cease its pursuit.
Avoid Eye Contact
As with any animal, avoid direct eye contact.
This may be perceived as a threat to the deer and it may act in an unpredictable manner.
You want to keep the deer in your peripheral vision without staring it down.
Be cognizant of its location while moving away from it.
Speak Softly
If you choose to engage in verbal communication with the animal, try to speak as softly as possible.
Consistent with the obvious trend in this post, we don’t want to startle the deer in any way.
Speaking in a loud voice could potentially scare the deer away but again, you could see an unpredictable reaction that sees the deer hurdling in your direction as well!
Using a soft tone is a relatively risk-free way of reassuring the animal that you are not a threat to it.
Observe your Surroundings
Remain cognizant of your surroundings as you are backing away or walking from the deer.
Try to find a path that you would like to take and stick with it.
It’s easy to become disoriented when nervous so try your best to calm your nerves and take note of everything around you.
The last thing you want to do is back up over a tree stump and injure yourself!
Seek Help if Necessary
If none of these tips are working to get rid of the deer, try to seek or contact a fellow camper, hunter, or park ranger.
Deer can occasionally act aggressively during mating season so it’s best to seek help if a deer continues to follow you.
It’s our opinion that deer are far more likely to leave you alone if you’re in a group opposed to being alone.
So do your best to find other people if you can and tackle the problem together. Chances are the deer will quickly lose interest!
It’s also important to note that it’s always advisable to have an Outdoor Emergency Plan when spending any time out in the wilderness.
Final Thoughts
We hope you’ll remember these 7 tips in the event you ever find yourself with a deer following you.
There is a very high probability that the deer will quickly lose interest if you do.
It’s important to note that deer generally don’t have much interest in humans so it shouldn’t take a large amount of persuasion to get them away from you.
Another important consideration is that you should never touch a deer if it comes close to you. While it may seem like a fantastic opportunity, there are far too many things that can go wrong with such an encounter!
We’d greatly appreciate if you share our article with your friends and drop us a comment below!