BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 23, 2023
When it comes to seeing deer, Alma Otto might have one of the best vantage points in all of Maine. She lives in a former farm in Orono near the University of Maine, on the edge of a large field that experiences a ton of deer traffic. One day a “deer was lying down in the field north of our barn in the early evening. Four deer stood near it,” Otto said. “A woman accompanied by a dog on a long leash walked by on the nearby sidewalk. Three of the deer walked very slowly and cautiously toward the dog, while the smallest deer stayed behind and watched the deer that was still lying down.” Otto said it looked like the deer were protecting the one lying down from predators. “When [the deer] had progressed halfway to the dog, the resting deer had gotten up and headed for the woods with the smaller deer. The other deer then bounded after them,” Otto said. Nathan Bieber, deer biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, said it was more likely curiosity among the deer.