WATCH: Minnesota Deer Walks Up And Let’s Guy Pet It
In a video that both amazes and scares me at the same time, what appears to be a 'wild' doe, is caught on camera coming up to a man who is getting his mail and letting him pet it. It was caught on camera in Hugo, located in Northern Washington County, in the Twin Cities.
Not only does this doe let the man pet it, but it also seems to want more 'love' and attention from the man filming the video John Dolan. It's amazing that an animal would do this, given that it was an animal in the wild. Check it out.
It's also scary that a deer would do this as we should keep wild animals wild. Case in point this USA Today story from July of last year involving a deer in Michigan.
"When a buck showed up on a Michigan beach over the Fourth of July weekend, beachgoers were eager to film, photograph and even pet the animal.
Don Poppe, a wildlife biologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, has a message for Saugatuck Dunes State Park visitors who petted and interacted with the wild deer: Keep wildlife wild."
When wild animals, like this deer, consistently interact with humans or are comfortable around people, they become "habituated." Habituated deer can be dangerous come mating season when buck testosterone levels increase. That increase can lead what was once a tame deer into one that can and will injure humans it may come into contact with.
The Minnesota DNR also frowns upon the habituation of deer, which you can read more about here.