Deer have many different predators. Animals that eat deer include humans, bears, wolves, coyotes, jaguars, leopards, cheetahs, and vultures.
Deer are near the bottom of the food chain. Their main weakness is if they get caught off-guard. When they’re feeding out in the open, they’re an easy target for faster and more agile animals such as wolves, wild cats, and bears.
Humans also tend to kill deer for food, although this seems to be on a downward trend as we’ve moved away from being a society of hunters.
Because they have many predators, the deer population is on a slight decline.
In this article, we’ll observe some of the most common predators of deer and how they catch them.
What Eats Deer?
This is a list of the top deer predators.
1. Alligators
This report finds that the American alligator is known to prey on deer in habitats that overlap.
This would be mainly the southeast of the United States, and particularly, Florida.
Alligators will sneak up on deer who are drinking at waterholes. Alligators are experts at stalking land animals and ungulates who come to the water for a drink. The alligator moves very slowly in the water to avoid detection with just their eyes above the water.
Furthermore, they will often sit perfectly still on logs to conserve energy, soak up sunrays (they are cold-blooded), and to avoid detection by potential prey.
2. Bears
Bears are kings of their habitats. in wooden areas anywhere in the world, they’re considered to be the primary and apex predators, so they don’t have many natural threats as far as other predators go.
And they’ll need to feed themselves, too. They’re herbivores, which means they’ll look for meat sources that will keep them and their families well fed and prepared for the winter.
Interestingly, deer are not the major food in the bear’s diet. In fact, bears eat many more herbs, plants, berries, and nuts, than they do meat.
3. Bobcats
Other wild cats, such as bobcats and lynx, are also predators of deer.
The lynx is a stealthy predator that will hide in order to surprise its prey. However, they’re also very fast if it comes down to a race. So more often than not, they’re capable of catching the deer that start to run away as they are startled.
This report shows that bobcats are a primary predator of deer in the South East of the United States. Because they’re smaller wildcats, they will often prey on fauns.
4. Coyotes
Coyotes are smaller than bears or wolves, as well as deer. But they’re still able to produce enough strength and hunting prowess to catch themselves good prey.
Unlike wolves or bears though, they rely on their stealth much more rather than their agility.
And because of their smaller stature, coyotes will target smaller deer rather than adults. Often, they’ll look for deer in groups, and then they’ll decide to pursue the smaller animals. However, when coyotes group up, they’re able to wear down larger deer and catch them, which provides them enough food for a while.
5. Domestic Dogs
Unfortunately, careless pet owners can sometimes let their dog loose and allow him to hunt deer.
Dogs generally chase down deer out of predator instinct rather than need. In fact, studies have found that dogs don’t tend to eat deer carcasses. Instead, they will primarily go for the deer out of instinct and enjoyment.
Hunting dogs are another potential threat to deer, although many hunting dogs are trained to corner animals without actually making physical contact.
6. Eagles and Vultures
Eagles are occasionally able to catch deer as their prey. But this will only happen if the deer is seriously hurt, unable to move, or in one way or another paralyzed or disabled.
However, eagles will prefer to catch smaller deer, especially baby deer that seem to stray away from their packs.
And because eagles strike so swiftly, the smaller deer simply have no answer for their attacks. They’re not able to anticipate these attacks, too. So when eagles strike, it’s normally several attacks that will wear down the deer and then make it an easier type of prey.
Vultures are also sometimes predators of deer. But this only happens rarely, although vultures are capable of killing and eating smaller deer or deer that are hurt or unable to move.
7. Humans
While humans might not be considered as their natural enemies such as some other animals like wolves or bears, they still contribute a very real threat to the deer population. Sometimes, people used to hunt down deer for food and to provide for their families.
Today, however, this trend seems to be changing. More and more hunters tend to catch deer for fun, which is not a great look for the deer population. It’s why we’re seeing the deer population starting to decline over the last few years, especially near urban areas where people are constantly hunting them.
Many people like to cook deer meat and eat it, too. However, many deer deaths also happen because of car crashes and accidents where deer get killed by coming traffic. This is yet another reason why there are fewer and fewer deer out there.
8. Jaguars
Even though jaguars and deer are not that commonly together in the same habitat, they’re also potential hunters of these animals.
These wild cats will rely on their strength and sheer speed to catch deer and hunt them down.
However, jaguars are not common in deer habitats, and they will be found in other habitats. One equivalent of deer that jaguars catch is antelopes.
9. Wolves
In their natural habitat, there is probably no tougher and fiercer threat to deer than wolves. That’s because these two animals share the same habitat, and wolves are constantly on the lookout for food, especially during the night.
The wolves will hunt and travel in packs and at night. They’ll sniff out any chance they might have against potential prey, and they will look for trails and try to use their strong senses, which get heightened during the night, to locate the deer.
And because the wolves travel in packs, deer have little to no chance to fight back or even escape. If they’re able to escape luckily, it might be because of their agility and their ability to hide and escape. But this only happens rarely.
How Do Deer Protect Themselves?
Deer are not the best when it comes to fending off attacks from predators. While they are quick and agile, they are quite easily surprised if they are not able to sniff out the danger before it comes to them.
And once deer are surprised, there is practically no way they can escape from stronger and faster predators. That’s why they are near the bottom of the feeding menu.
And they’re also not natural predators of any other animals, as they mostly eat grass and leaves. This means they’re an easy target for able hunters like wolves and bears.
Their main and only way of protecting themselves is hiding within the herd and hoping they’re not found by these predators. They will also try to run away from the predators, which is sometimes successful if they’re able to outrun the predator. But more often than not, it will result in the death of the deer.
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Final Thoughts
Deer are quite a common type of prey especially for the larger predators in nature. Bears, wolves, mountain lynx, wild cats and dogs, and eagles are all natural predators of the deer. It’s also worth mentioning that humans are one of the most common predators of the deer, which might sound a bit surprising.
Deer don’t have the best defensive mechanisms, meaning they’re an easy target for able hunters. So they will often try to hide and hope they’re not hunted down, although sooner rather than later, most deer will die because of predators rather than of natural causes.
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