Mama Deer vs the coyotes: A close call for one of the fawns

[@Poppi2006]

Wow! Better than a Disney movie. Thanks

[@gth042]

It is crazy how fast some things can run through the woods at night. I didn't know coyotes could see that well. Something to note... Thank you.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Yes, good point. Because we're seeing everything via infrared night vision cameras it's easy to forget that it's really pitch dark out there. How the animals manage to run so fast and negotiate all the obstacles in their way is a mystery to us.

[@grantcritchfieldstexastrai7072]

Awesome sequence of events and thanks for the injury update. Looks like the leg is doing well.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

It's a pretty deep wound, Grant, but it is healing well.

[@Athena-beek]

Great video, great compilation of events...yet (still) difficult to watch in parts, even though we were clued from the get go about the happy ending....(thank you). Absolutely incredible! Thank you so much for sharing.

[@trailcameratexaswildlife9526]

I am always wondering about the story behind the scars I see on deer. This one you will likely recognize in the future as he or she grows. Lucky little one! Coyotes are very smart. Does do a wonderful job of protecting their young. Have a good night, Char😊

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

HI Char - Yes, this scar will last a lifetime. It's turned into quite a deep wound. Still healing well, though - and we're now 16 days on from the attack.

[@Marilyn12346]

Thank you so much for sharing this video!

[@hoff54a]

Well put together. Thanks very much.

[@rennierad]

That baby deer got some experience he will never forget. Great footage.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

I feel sorry for all our hungry coyotes, but we are very, very grateful that both of last year's fawns survived. It's unusual. Normally, one gets killed by coyotes.

[@georgesilverhawkstrailcame2297]

Scientifically interesting. Thank you, this is some amazing footage.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Thank you, George.

[@catsara9114]

What a thrill ... I almost bit my knuckles, this really was sooo close! When the fawn hit that fence 😨 Mama deer is SO fierce and fast! I never knew deer could be that confident.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Mama D is a force to be reckoned with when someone threatens her fawns.

[@jaysantos11]

wow..what an amazing video. thank you for sharing this footage with us🤠

[@loz3135]

So glad this little fawn wasn't a meal ,hoping his leg gets better soon.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

He's barely even limping now. A lucky little fawn.

[@margaritaramos3393]

​@@TexasBackyardWildlife A lesson learned.

[@ttenkrut]

Great upload!!

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Thank you.

[@kathlynterry8196]

Thank you for the narrative into this fascinating glimpse of real life. I’m thankful there was only one coyote hunting there.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Yes, had there been 2 coyotes we'd be down to 1 fawn.

[@bastykoye8726]

Awesome Document

[@diontaedaughtry974]

Very insightful, Great video 👍👍

[@heidiweber2295]

Awesome footage and a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing. Love from Germany.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Thank you Heidi! Very good to hear from you. The fawns in this video survived to adulthood and are still around, and mama deer is now pregnant with this year's fawns. They will be born in a couple of weeks.

[@clintholmes2061]

Cool video.

[@alanatolstad4824]

I wasn't sure I wanted to watch this, but feeling strong enough this morning. Phew.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

It really was a close call. It's now about 16 days since the fawn was attacked and his wound is still pretty nasty looking, but it's healing. If only we could feed the coyotes...

[@staceychristie3676]

You are so lucky, I never get cool/interesting footage like that on my trail camera, even though I get a lot of different types of animals coming through my backyard.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

It's great that you have lots of wildlife, Stacey. We love our cameras, but the most important thing is creating a welcoming environment for the animals.

[@staceychristie3676]

@@TexasBackyardWildlife I agree, I built a pond in my backyard a couple of years ago, to attract more animals to my yard. It seemed to work, although I think if the woods behind my house were larger more animals would come by.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

We regularly fantasize about putting in a pond. It would have to have a serious water filter though, the raccoons would turn it into mud every night.

[@staceychristie3676]

@@TexasBackyardWildlife Lol they probably would! Luckily the raccoons that visit are pretty docile, although the recent bear that visited made the water muddy for days.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Our local raccoons are the sweetest creatures in the world (I sound like a doting aunt, don't I?). We don't have bears here. Might be kind of fun...

[@mahendrasmith7589]

Wow, that must have been quite the bite. If you had a mic, I imagine the fawn would have put out quite a scream. That mom is quite skilled at mothering. She have raised a bunch of fawns before and has experience.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

It was bad, but the fawn recovered and is fine. It was a very lucky escape.

[@djryan8944]

Great Video😀

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Thank you.

[@samfitzgerald4417]

Glad the fawn was ok but I do hope that coyote got something to eat though. Who knows how hungry it was. Hopefully it didn’t happen to go after someone’s pet dog or cat or poultry either though.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

The coyotes are all hungry, and some are quite thin. They don't have an easy life. We don't want to lose a fawn, but we don't want the coyotes to starve, either. We suffer from irreconcilable "wants".

[@mdees88]

great video, just subscribed. What trail cams are you using for this?

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

We use Dahua security cameras. They're all wired in. We have about 80 or so. Here's a page on our website that provides some details of what we do: texasbackyardwildlife.com/information-about-our-cameras-and-set-up/

[@sorayadz764]

الغزلان مخلوقات جميلة رشيقة رغم كل هاذ فهي تكابد الصعاب لكي تعيش مع صغارها بكل شجاعة حياتهم في اليل والنهار مطاردة حمدت الله على ذكاءهم بلفطرة وأرجو أن يكونو دائما بخير أحبهم كثيرا حتى الذءب أحبه لاكن هاذه هي الحياة شكرا تصوير راءع سلام

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

شكرا لك ثريا. كل ما تقوله صحيح. نحن نحب الغزلان أيضًا.

[@SkiBum6062]

We live in Utah and unfortunately we had an almost identical situation, but the one fawn couldn’t escape the coyote. Nature is harsh but it’s the circle of life I guess. Poor deer.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

I try to be philosophical about it - the coyotes need to eat - but I'm a hopeless softie and wish they all were vegetarian.

[@Therealwk]

The things that go on in your own backyard

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Isn't it astonishing? The only difference between our backyard and many others is that we have lots of cameras.

[@susansusan6612]

That wound didn’t look good to me.... clean, but swollen. Looks like it hurts. I didn’t know mama deer were that protective of their fawn though.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

The fawn recovered but the wound was nasty enough to be worrying for a good 10 days or so. We talked to a wildlife veterinarian and she told us that so long as the deer can lick a wound there's a good chance it will stay clean and heal.

[@susansusan6612]

@@TexasBackyardWildlife Sadly, I understand it's survival of the fittest in the wild. Glad she was okay though.

[@niranjan5501]

Unfortunately ,our coyote missed its natural meal that is fawn .

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

True, the coyote did miss out on this meal. But I don't feel all that bad for him - there are only 2 fawns and even eating them both wouldn't keep the coyote fed for very long.

[@tierliebe9891]

I am glad that no fawn died 😅. coyotes also eat small rodents I had seen it in a documentary but if it hunts large prey because maybe it will have puppies maybe it is a female coyote 🤔?

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

We don't like to see the coyotes go hungry, but we are very fond of the fawns - we know them as friends by now - so we always hope that the coyotes will manage to survive by eating someone else!

[@frenchvideoclub8031]

Can you fix the fence, make it more visible or something so they wouldn’t run into it like that again?

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Good question. It's pretty visible. We have signs hanging on it. The fawn had seen it dozens of times before, but it was panicking, poor thing. However, it's a good point though and we might have to give it a try. We could hang something really reflective on it.

[@mahendrasmith7589]

@@TexasBackyardWildlife yeah, I would want to influence the battle of the fawn and coyote as little as possible.

[@sojc7144]

👏👏👏🦌

[@MyPetsVD]

Oh my god!

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Our sweet, brave mama deer. She died last Wednesday (May 3rd). She was the queen of our backyard and we are very sad.

[@braznartn5176]

Footage is unreal.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

It took a lot of piecing together - Dan studied the clips from lots of different cameras - but it was worth the effort.

[@Инга-ч7б]

Веселая была ночка! 😅

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Ну не совсем. Но олененок выжил.

[@tooge47]

why aren't YOU taking out the coyotes ?

[@RedGallardo]

Nobody gets killed... ever. So pick who's gonna die - the deer or the coyotes. You can't save everyone. Not in the wild nature. I'm sure one day people will go crazy enough to manipulate DNA and create chimeras that eat light and shit rainbow but for now someone has to die in order for another to live. Life is not about never dying. Life is about getting your share and then letting the others take theirs. It's not a Tom and Jerry cartoon where not getting the prey has no consequences for the predator. If coyote fails, her pups die. If all coyotes die, deer start reproducing endlessly. They will kill each-other for territory and people will have to shoot them to prevent getting a corpse forest full of rotting bodies for no one to eat without coyotes. The only question is who kills and when. Not "if".

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

Hard to know what to say to this one... We are not crazy and we don't think life is a Tom & Jerry cartoon. We fully understand that coyotes must eat. We live with these animals and we see life and death every day. We have a coyote out in the backyard right now, in fact, and there's a skunk telling him to keep his distance. See? Nature in balance. As for your "corpse forest of rotting bodies", well, I don't know how a tiny video about fawns escaping a couple of coyotes devolved into this bizarre dystopian nightmare, but I'm happy to leave you to it.

[@RedGallardo]

@@TexasBackyardWildlife It's not about a fawn video, it's that purely American "no one was hurt". What, if someone was eaten you wouldn't show the video? If people find out animals eat animals they will get a heart attack? That disgusting world of double standards. Saving chipmunks with helicopters, leaving humans rot on the streets. Not tell anyone about death, sex or drugs but then take people and throw them into the jaws of war. Kids cannot be touched, they are innocent, that's why modern public schools put them in conditions where they commit suicide and take guns to school to kill all their classmates at random. The contrast of this bestial brutality and the care of mentioning that no one in a video was hurt makes me shiver. Both these things exist in one same brain. Dystopia is not on my side of the screen... The horror is out there. I couldn't be happier staying away from that insane culture of demagogy and masked cruelty. The land of freedom. For everyone. Even criminals, psychopaths and maniacs. Dear lord... Yes, I'm happy that the fawn is ok. And the coyote who must kill every day or two to not starve. I'm sincerely happy for them both. The nature is fine. Humans are crazy.

[@TexasBackyardWildlife]

@@RedGallardo Some of our viewers have asked us to let them know if a video includes violence or death, and so that's what we do. What's the harm in warning or reassuring people? We agree with you that nature is OK and humans are crazy. Nature is hard, though, and looking for some kind of Eden is a waste of time. The American belief in a land of freedom is a meaningless illusion.

[@RedGallardo]

@@TexasBackyardWildlife Ok, thank you for explaining. I still don't understand why people watch videos about wild nature if they don't want to know about its cruelty. It's like listening to songs and being afraid of music. And asking authors to warn them if the song has any.

[@lf4061]

I am sure most people are well aware of this but that does not mean they want to watch it for entertainment.