Mischievous Fawn Tries To Play With Wild Turkeys

Turkeys and deer together, again. These two vastly different types of creatures certainly do prefer to be around each other. Neither species predates on the other, and both instinctively know this. The worst that could happen is you may be trampled if you don’t move out of the way quickly enough. Wild turkeys, though, are surprisingly quick creatures, and unlike their domesticated counterpart, they can fly.

It doesn’t look like our little four-legged friend is being territorial. It looks more like she’s socializing, but then, hey! They’re running from me! This is fun, let’s do it some more. The turkeys have young with them, so they must be really trusting of deer in their midst. Could it be there’s some kind of symbiotic relationship here, where the bigger deer provide a measure of security or even act as an early warning system? Well, the system kind of breaks down when one of them starts chasing your family around the lily patch.

The fawn is still learning, however, so it could be she is wondering if the turkeys have found something better to eat. Where is her mother? Hopefully, she’s not orphaned. Maybe the other adult deer are just out of view of the camera.

The scene is a tranquil one, the brief chase notwithstanding. The videographer immerses us in a bucolic setting on a farm or ranch, with a rustic old chicken coop or tool shed for a backdrop. Don’t you think this scene would make a great painting? All it needs is a rusting old car or tractor sinking into an overgrowth of tall goldenrod and jewelweed. How grand it must be, to be able to look out your window and see nature at play.

It’s such a tiny segment of life on earth, yet imbued with forest magic that most of the 7.4 billion people living on this planet will never see. It’s a blessing that a privileged few have been gifted to enjoy, especially if they can quietly observe from a hidden vantage point. There’s no need to despair if you’re not one of them because the gift of nature has been shared with us. We don’t need to know and probably shouldn’t learn the precise whereabouts. It is an idyllic landscape, best preserved in this wonderful video capture.

Turkeys, themselves, are wise old creatures with an instinct for survival. It is a wonder that they share the habitat so intimately with deer. Although it may look like they compete for food and resources, they really don’t. Deer eat small flowering plants that grow in the grass, and the turkeys are most likely foraging for seeds. In fact, turkeys are omnivorous, and if an insect or even small snake passes by its vigilant gaze, it will try to eat it.

As there are a number of videos out recently that display similar scenes of deer and turkeys coexisting within feet of each other, it’s likely a completely healthy and natural thing, which is less of a truce and more of a community.