This happened recently in South Africa when a leopard turns aggressive on a couple while they were in a romantic setting and doing nothing to aggravate the leopard. In fact, there was third party, a hunter who tried to shoot the leopard but missed killing it. The bullet injured the animal which fought back – unfortunately, targeting the wrong person.When the news was published, it suggested that the animal just pounced on the married couple for no reason at all. It downplayed the other side of the story which was about the hunter and the sport of hunting. South Africa depends heavily on tourists coming in to hunt, and negative news could affect this income-generating trade.At the same time, the newspapers made it appear that the attack was the fault of the couple which could not be farther from the truth. Again, it’s politics being played out heavily. The leopard would not have done anything to bite anyone if it was not shot in the first place. The truth is, once an animal gets into the mode of thinking he is under attack because of the constant threat of hunters, his behavior will change to a more aggressive stance. If hunting is reduced or stopped altogether, it is possible to reverse that behavior. As of now, hunting is a bloodsport, not a means to find food.

It’s not even a fair sport because hunters now use telescopic lenses to shot from hundreds of meters away. The animals have very little chance of being able to run away because they won’t sense the hunter from that distance.

Is it any wonder that we are experiencing animal attacks and critical situations where animals could become extinct?

Then, when a truly tragic situation arises and vicious animals attack humans for no reason at all, we use this as justification for hunting. Somehow, there is something wrong with this logic but the powers-that be go with the flow because money is more important than life. And trophy hunting is a high-revenue sport.

For a while, there was a concern that their numbers would drop because the fierce cold winters we’ve had the past few year. Add to that, winter months seemed longer and snow was heavier which many predicted would not be good for any animal living in the wild.
Researchers know that the white-tailed deer is very adaptable. It can find food even in unusual circumstances as well as sufficient shelter. They seem to know exactly what kind of food would be nutritious and not rot over the cold months. During the warm months, they like to collect food. They pick the right food items like nuts, grass, and farm crops. On occasion, they have also stored wild fruits.
It is fascinating how the mother deer pushes her children to become mature at the age of a year and a half. The mother starts to attack her children in an effort to teach them how to fend for themselves. It toughens them up so they spread out and learn to survive on their own. Mother deer are extremely strong and can resist the cries of her children who want to nurse or come close to them. They can easily reject their children. It’s a cycle that researcher call “dispersal.”
One good offshoot of this dispersal tactic is that there is no inbreeding which means no mutation. If one sees a group of whitetails, they are usually of different ages but never parents with children. The male bachelors tend to stick together and socialize when they are to mate.
Females generally hibernate for over 6 months before giving birth. It isn’t uncommon to find them giving birth to triplets or twins.
This cycle and the fact that they can adapt easily are the main reasons why the whitetail deer has managed to grow in numbers, and are expected to live long.