If Deer Can See So Well At Night....Then Why?

[Country]

It is said that deer can actually see very well in the dark...or at least a quick internet search says so. If this is true, why do they seem to consistently bed down during daylight and move more toward dusk and dawn and even in the middle of the night to feed. I feel like our human brains equate this to them feeling safer at night because of the dark, but if they can see fine in the dark, why would they have any reason to believe that predators (especially humans) can't see just as well??

Is it partially because they hardly ever run into humans while it's dark? Is it because they just prefer to move at night because it's cooler out? Maybe their natural clock God gave them just tells them it's time to get up. Maybe they prefer the added moisture their food might have at night?

Doing a quick search on coyotes, apparently they're natural rhythm is to be up during the day unless they are over pressured by human activity... especially more urban dwelling coyotes. Maybe deer are taking this into consideration as well.

What do you think??

[Eddiegomes83]

I was under the impression that they they see better then us at night but nut necessarily better then day. From what I understand is they have more rods or light gathering receptors. So essentially they gather more available light to be able to see. Kind of like when you have a good scope that gathers more light and you can see more light in low light conditions then you can with the naked eye....but that is just my simple minded understanding


I think I heard that they see best at dusk and dawn as well.

[Pancake]

Wired to Hunt just had a great episode about this (episode 543). In short, deer see blues really well, which means they see best during dawn and dusk, which is likely the biggest reason that they're so active at those times. Here's a quick article from Meat Eater that outlines some stuff too, but I really recommend that WtH episode. There's all sorts of great biology in it.

https://www.themeateater.com/wired-to-h ... d-movement

[mauser06]

Deer aren't said to be nocturnal like say...a raccoon for example.


Unpressured Deer will wander and feed throughout the day. Pressured/mature Deer do too...but won't get very far if at all.


I see does and young bucks regularly throughout the day. I used to hunt as much as I could regardless of time of year etc. I'd see some pretty wild midday movement in the early season.

Now I walk into does and small bucks that are onntheir feet regularly working into my evening hunts.



I think pressure is a big factor.



Big woods, Unpressured Deer and a cool early season day and you can see deer all day long. I usually see flurries of activity. Not sure if that's a moon thing...or just how often they eat or what. Funny to see does and young bucks plop down wherever they dang well please in the middle of the day.

[Country]

Wired to Hunt just had a great episode about this (episode 543). In short, deer see blues really well, which means they see best during dawn and dusk, which is likely the biggest reason that they're so active at those times. Here's a quick article from Meat Eater that outlines some stuff too, but I really recommend that WtH episode. There's all sorts of great biology in it.

https://www.themeateater.com/wired-to-h ... d-movement

Great article. Thanks for sharing.

[Brad]

what blows my mind is how they can't really see that great during the day, but they can run full speed weaving through the woods like they do when bumped... If I had to run full speed through the woods, my eyeballs would be quickly impaled by branches. Heck, I've had sticks in my eyes just walking normally through the woods (corneal abrasions are some of the worst pain you will ever experience... this I know from experience) . Deer are amazing creatures without question.

[<DK>]

I personally dont fully believe this theory.

To start w the dawn/dusk idea - Multiple times at first light iv had deer look right at me and not be able to see me. One was first light, a mature buck, 7 yards away and I was only 10ft up a tree in a ladder stand. He stared at me for about 5 secs and put his head down. I was sticking out like a sore thumb. Another at first light I actually grunted at him, he froze, did the head bob and shrugged it off again. There is absolutely no way I get away w those examples w sunlight. Another 15mins for the sun to come up and they would have blown out of there. I do think they can see better in the evenings but iv gotten away w it then too.

Seeing better in the dark idea - Multiple times iv walked right up on bedded deer and they could clearly see me coming, one time I almost stepped on a buck and it scared the heck out me. Other times during the rut iv had them run right past me in the dark while im standing or walking. Obviously being heavy rut activity they arent as aware but theres even stories of guys rattling deer in the dark and the buck almost running them over while running to the sound.

Plain and simple iv been picked off way more in daylight than low light, even w no movement at all.

[Eddiegomes83]

I personally dont fully believe this theory.

To start w the dawn/dusk idea - Multiple times at first light iv had deer look right at me and not be able to see me. One was first light, a mature buck, 7 yards away and I was only 10ft up a tree in a ladder stand. He stared at me for about 5 secs and put his head down. I was sticking out like a sore thumb. Another at first light I actually grunted at him, he froze, did the head bob and shrugged it off again. There is absolutely no way I get away w those examples w sunlight. Another 15mins for the sun to come up and they would have blown out of there. I do think they can see better in the evenings but iv gotten away w it then too.

Seeing better in the dark idea - Multiple times iv walked right up on bedded deer and they could clearly see me coming, one time I almost stepped on a buck and it scared the heck out me. Other times during the rut iv had them run right past me in the dark while im standing or walking. Obviously being heavy rut activity they arent as aware but theres even stories of guys rattling deer in the dark and the buck almost running them over while running to the sound.

Plain and simple iv been picked off way more in daylight than low light, even w no movement at all.

Could be because majority of your time is hunting in the daylight......hopefully!


I don't know what they see....I just like hunting em!

[Hawthorne]

If everyone was shooting at me and my family for hundreds of years during the day I’d probably move at night also or in thick brush during the day

[Country]

If everyone was shooting at me and my family for hundreds of years during the day I’d probably move at night also or in thick brush during the day

With all due respect, I don't know that I believe in this theory. You might be right though.

[Tennhunter3]

The way I have always viewed this topic is that their is less human intrusion in the dark. And deer became programmed to that behavior. And does teach their fawns and it goes on and on.

They don't hear gun shots at night and we all know that gun noise is very effective for making deer seek thick cover or become nocturnal.

If a buck can return to the same trail, bedding area the next year at the same time as the year before they are extremely intelligent creatures. They remember where they see hunters come from and sit and often watch the hunters entry. When you think about this it doesn't seem shocking that they are intelligent enough to know theirs fewer gunshots in the nighttime hours.


For mornings it makes since that deer travel more due to the air temperature being cooler.

Deer I think see very well during the day and night they very rarely run into objects and still pick off predators well during the day.

[<DK>]

l[/highlight].

Could be because majority of your time is hunting in the daylight......hopefully!

Lol yeah they cant see anything w a spot light shining on them

[mauser06]

Another thing I've observed over the years of coon hunting.....I cannot tell you how many deer I've walked up on. Including giant mature bucks. Well within 100yds. Light or no light. They aren't nearly as spooky at night as they are in the day. It's really odd being able to nearly walk into vow range of a giant buck. It's not a quiet sneaky ordeal. Lights. Talking. Busting brush. Dogs barking. Bullwinkle standing there like a big dummy.

[Brad]

l[/highlight].

Could be because majority of your time is hunting in the daylight......hopefully!

Lol yeah they cant see anything w a spot light shining on them

or a headlamp... one walked almost straight to me and got to maybe 7 yards from me walking in early one morning. He got past me and finally the SOB ran off blowing... and running... and blowing... the SOB didn't stop for like 10 minutes. Thankfully the big buck I ended up shooting later that day didn't come through till about 4 hours later.

[Pancake]

I'm no scientist, but this is what I've heard smart people say:
- Deer have a higher flicker rate than humans. Effectively, this means that deer process visual information significantly more quickly than we do, which is what I'm sure allows them to sprint through the woods and not impale themselves on branches.
- Deer have eyes that are on the sides of their head. That's great for seeing danger coming from multiple directions, but it's not great for seeing in 3D. When you see a deer doing that head bob thing, it's because it's trying to process what you are. It's moving it's head side to side to try to create a 3D picture instead of 2D. This is why having back cover is so important. Deer can see better at dusk and dawn, but if there's sun glaring off you or something in the middle of the day, that could get you picked off pretty easily too.

All of this to say, that a deer can stare right at you and as long as you don't move (and it can't smell you obviously), there's a reasonable chance it'll just calm back down.

As for why they're way more chill at night, I'm not sure. Maybe it's because they're not used to be hunted by humans when it's dark? A lot of times they'll let you walk right up on them when they're bedded too. I presume it's a feeling of being safe by not moving and not perceiving you as a threat. I don't know if there's science to that question yet or not.