In a recent video posted to Youtube by Viral Hog, a small whitetail buck is seen hoovering hand-out corn beneath an automated feeder. The scene starts out calm, but when a racoon brushes up against the buck’s front leg, all hell breaks loose. See it yourself below.
The video, aptly titled ‘Raccoon Startles Deer in Late-Night Encounter’, was captured by a Moultrie trail camera at 3:19 a.m. on August 18. According to the caption, it occurred near the town Connelly Springs, North Carolina.
It’s hard to say if the young buck thought the racoon was out to get him, or if he mistook it for something more threatening when it grazed his foreleg. While significantly smaller than deer, large male raccoons are known to challenge whitetails when competing for corn or other food sources at established bait sites.
Whatever the reason, the raccoon’s presence caused the deer in this video to launch itself skyward before crashing down atop the very feeder that was doling out its free meal. The feeder crumpled beneath the weight of the whitetail, and both animals fled the scene before the video cut out.
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While bizarre, the short trail cam clip is good video evidence of the spring-like leaping abilities that whitetail deer posses. According to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, “adult deer can easily jump 7 feet or higher.”
While the deer shown here launched itself at least that high from a standing position, running deer are known to scale obstacles measuring up to ten feet or higher. Blow-downs and other man-made obstacles higher than 10 to 12 feet can either keep deer out of an area or funnel them toward a discreet stand location.
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