# deer **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776 "2002-12-01T14:30:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PurplePerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PurplePerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurplePerson)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776/1 "2002-12-01T14:30:39Z")
Why don’t deer freeze to death in the winter? Do they feel just as cold as we would feel? ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776/2 "2002-12-01T14:56:07Z")
During the winter, deer grow a thicker coat than in the other months. This fur coat makes them a heck of a lot warmer than any of us humans. 😃 In addition, the deer slows down considerably in the winter, restricting movement to food-gathering, in order to conserve energy. ---
**Author:** ![TBone2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@TBone2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBone2)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776/3 "2002-12-01T15:30:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*In addition, the deer slows down considerably in the winter, restricting movement to food-gathering, in order to conserve energy. \*\* Actually, deer are _most_ active during the early winter, specifically late Nov. - early Dec., at least around here. This is mainly due to the annual mating season – the “rut” – but partially because of human pressure during hunting season. Also, they prefer this time of year for playing dodgem on the Interstates, though they’re game for it year-round. I’ve nailed seven of the bastards over the last fifteen years, using vehicles ranging in size from a Chevy Nova (the Japanese kind) to a half-ton GMC pickup. No need for fancy firearms here! Hell, I wish they’d ALL freeze to death.:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776/4 "2002-12-01T15:58:48Z")
Some deer do freeze in the winter. A farmer friend of mine has a huge pile of antlers that they’ve collected from deer that have frozen to death and been caught in the tractor come springtime. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776/5 "2002-12-01T16:08:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Actually, deer are _most_ active during the early winter, specifically late Nov. - early Dec. Technically, isn’t that Autumn? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776/6 "2002-12-01T16:24:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Silentgoldfish \* > \*\*Some deer do freeze in the winter. A farmer friend of mine has a huge pile of antlers that they’ve collected from deer that have frozen to death and been caught in the tractor come springtime. \*\* You might argue that they likely starved to death, not froze to death. Deer, particularly if overpopulated, sometimes have trouble finding quality forage in the winter. Of course, the effect of starving is that they lose fat, become malnourished, and may succumb to the elements, ie. freeze. Nevertheless, a healthy, adequately fed deer survives in the cold perfectly well. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776/7 "2002-12-01T16:29:12Z")
Also, they usually migrate (following the available food) from the colder areas to warmer ones (here in Colorado from the mountains to the foothills or even plains). In that way the temprature shifts are less than it would be for a human. Often during the winter, people in Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs (among others) will find deer in their back yards or gardens. During extreme cold snaps, they are adept at finding sheltered spots out of the direct blast of the weather like under and over hang of a bluff and will cluster in a group sharing body heat. This can at times backfire and become a death trap and end up like the example provided by the farmer friend of **Silentgoldfish**. Deer are not above adapting their environment to help them keep warm, however. Often people who have summer cabins or homes in the high country come back to them in the spring to find the doors have been kicked in by hooves and deer crap thoughout the places. The Colorado Game and Fish Department used to build roofed areas next to many of their sheds and garages for deer so the deer would not destroy the doors, windows and walls to get in them (I don’t know if they still do this - I heard somewhere that they have turned to an anti-deer spray, but I’m not certain). TV ---
**Author:** ![PurplePerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@PurplePerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurplePerson)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776/8 "2002-12-01T17:49:44Z")
I see deer here almost every night, but have been lucky not to hit one. I realize this is breeding season and look everywhere around me when I drive. I know that is not full proof. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776/9 "2002-12-01T18:10:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TBone2 \* > **Actually, deer are _most_ active during the early winter, specifically late Nov. - early Dec., at least around here. This is mainly due to the annual mating season – the “rut” – but partially because of human pressure during hunting season.** As pointed out, “late November” and “early December” are not winter at all. During the winter itself, deer most certainly are less active, for the reasons I stated. It’s colder, so they’re less inclined to engage in especially active activities. They DO grow a thicker coat, and this helps them fight off the cold, although it doesn’t make them 100% warm. > [@](#): > > Also, they prefer this time of year for playing dodgem on the Interstates, though they’re game for it year-round. I’ve nailed seven of the bastards over the last fifteen years, using vehicles ranging in size from a Chevy Nova (the Japanese kind) to a half-ton GMC pickup. No need for fancy firearms here! Strangely enough, this doesn’t answer the question posed by the OP here, in General Questions. If you want to crow about killing deer with your car and your wishes that every one of them was dead, please feel free to begin a new thread elsewhere, such as IMHO, GD, or the Pit. [What’s a Japanese Chevy Nova, anyway?] ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer/139776/10 "2002-12-01T18:51:29Z")
[hijack] Why it’s a **Corolla** of course! A friend of mine bought one when she couldn’t decide to buy a Chevy or a Toyota. So she bought a Novarolla !! 😃 [/hijack]