After an orphaned fawn was rescued by one family, it began an intergenerational, interspecies love affair that has proven not only profound for the creatures involved, but also highly entertaining to the scores of people online who have discovered their delightful videos. The deer grew up and still comes and goes from the family’s house at will, but often lives in the wild as well, and has given birth to several fawns of her own, some who have also befriended the Golden Retrievers and cats who are part of the household.
View the original article to see embedded media.
At first glance, this video appears to be of a trio of dogs with the zoomies, frolicking around a muddy woodland puddle. But take a closer look—it’s actually two golden retrievers, and a young deer named Biscuit. And though the Golden Retrievers are more than happy to splash into the puddle, the deer remains safely on dry land.
Related: Deer Brings Her Family to Meet Golden Retriever and We Can’t Take It
Biscuit is part of a family of deer who have formed a close personal friendship with one human household and their pets. Raised alongside these two particular dogs as well as their sibling cat, Biscuit has no fear from them and regularly joins the family on hikes through the woods and even goes inside the house for the occasional snack. It’s an unusual arrangement to be sure, and one that comes with a lot of raised eyebrows.
Habituation of Wild Animals
“Habituation” is the process by which a wild animal is trained out of its natural wariness and fear of humans and their pets, usually through regular exposure, feeding, and handling. There are many levels to this behavior, and some can be dangerous for the animals. The birds and squirrels in the average suburban yard have a low level of habituation, as they likely don’t think much of you walking around the lawn or refilling the bird feeder, Animals like Biscuit, however, who have been hand fed since infancy, have much higher levels of habituation, which is why you can see her playing freely with Golden Retrievers or taking food out of a person’s hand.
In some cases, habituation can be very dangerous for the wild animal. Every year, animals like bears are either killed or relocated due to well-meaning people who don[t understand that “making friends” with their neighborhood wildlife may mean a death sentence for them when they cross boundaries with other humans who do not want wild creatures around them.
Keeping Biscuit Safe
The people in this video have fitted Biscuit with a bright color that features a GPS tracker so they know where the deer is and also so they can hopefully warn potential hunters of the animal that this particular deer “belongs” to a local family.
It’s a system that has worked with Biscuits forebears, but it’s important to remember that the deer may seem like a pet, but it’s still a wild animal. Sometimes, they go many weeks without seeing the deer at all, and only getting “pings” from her tracker as she passes neighbors’s homes with Wi-Fi.
“This happened every year with Buttons around this time, the bucks chase the does and they are just on the move.”
Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos.
Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips.
