Wait, that’s not how the expression goes.
Sunday evening, on the way home to Rockport from Danvers, I saw a deer that had been struck dead on the side of 128. It made me super sad. It also made me worry about the driver who had hit it….as that is never good either.
It also reminded me of a time a couple of years ago that Freddy, the boys, and I were driving home from New Hampshire and ended up behind a guy with his dead deer trophy strapped casually to the back of his Jeep like it was a Thule or a bike rack. Previously, I had only seen deer under tarps or in the back of pick-up trucks. Never ever plain as day on the back of a car, in the middle lane of a large highway. I’m not sure why it struck me as so out of the norm, but it did.
Please allow me stop here for a moment and say that I understand hunting and realize that there are merits to it for population control and certainly out of a necessity to feed a family. As a sport, simply for fun, I still don’t have to like it. This post is not intended to start a hot debate about whether it is OK or not….it is simply to retell a story. So, I’m not going to go all “anti-hunting” on you….that being said, don’t feel the need to go all “pro-hunting” on me. I should add that I just finished reading one of my favorite books ever, My Side of the Mountain, to my students….in which young Sam Gribley hunts and kills many deer and an abundance of other animals to survive in the woods. I should mention too that I am the proud owner of two German Shorthaired Pointers, and, while our “bird dogs” don’t hunt, I enjoy hearing stories about their “friends” who do. It seems hypocritical for me to say “it’s ok to shoot a turkey, a pheasant, or a quail, but not a deer” so I don’t.
I’ve also been on sport-fishing boats and have caught tuna, mahi-mahi, and marlin, and have felt super sad as the color drained from their previously gorgeous bodies. It seems hypocritical for me to say “it’s ok to catch large fish, but not a deer” so I don’t. A dear friend of mine (no pun intended) who passed away a couple of years ago, was an avid hunter and we agreed to disagree on the subject. He teased me relentlessly about his “Gut Deer” (as in Got Milk) sticker on the back of his truck.
I also remember being at an airport in Africa with my camera gear all ready to “shoot” the Big 5 in Namibia and Botswana and standing behind people fully loaded with giant guns all ready to shoot some of those very same magnificent creatures. Again….I’m sure there are valid arguments for that….but, I don’t have to like it. And, in the case of large African mammals, I really don’t like it.
But, I digress….big time.
Back to the deer on the Jeep.
My concern upon seeing the deer was mostly that I didn’t want my boys to see it. They were maybe two and four at the time. My husband slowed down a bit and changed lanes so that it wasn’t as easy to spy. At the same moment, a little teeny car came flying by us, with an even teenier driver blaring her horn, screaming, and waving her middle finger wildly at the driver of the Jeep. She was so incredibly upset and passionate. I remember being proud of her….but yet, oddly, feeling bad for the hunter too. Her anger was so deep and….dare I say, mean. That sounds crazy, right? Me calling her mean for her rage against the hunter. It seemed like such a personal attack. She was so emotional and enraged. I remember feeling kind of confused by the whole encounter. It bothered me for days, but I couldn’t put my finger on why.
To go back to Africa…. I was confused in the same way that I felt on Day #3 of safari, when I found myself rooting for the cheetah to catch and kill the impala because I knew there were babies to feed. Days #1 and #2 I was cheering for the prey…not the predator… but, that changed upon seeing the hungry little ones. Surely the impala had hungry little ones too? Knowing who to root for was hard…so I opted to not align myself with either side of the hunt, but to simply watch it unfold…sometimes through the tiny cracks between my fingers that were covering my eyes.
So, all this had been spinning in my head as I thought, “Blog worthy or not?” and then I sat on the couch and saw a video of a deer attacking a hunter that a friend had put on Facebook…. and I laughed…. and then I felt really bad for the hunter. Full circle.
Good Morning Gloucester 
Again, how I love your posts. I love seeing the deer, but if hunters eat for food, understand a little more. I do not think I could take a gun and kill anything, I barely step on a bug, ok maybe a mosquito, but to each their own, but to kill for the thrill of killing is just wrong.
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Thanks, Donna! I rarely kill bugs either 🙂
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During my very long recovery period, I’ve watched a TON of TV, and learned a few things. On one Alaska game warden show, I learned that in Alaska it’s illegal to transport your harvested game out of sight. It must be clearly visible on your car or truck. This is a good way to check if the bag limit was adhered to, size limits, and for out of season hunting or trapping. It made a lot of sense to me. I’m not sure which states have laws like this.
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Thanks, Fred. My husband loves that show! Interesting….does make sense.
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My Side of the Mountain is one our all-time favorite books. Great post. Cheers!
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I gave my students the option of switching gears and reading something new/different or continuing with the series by reading On the Far Side of the Mountain and then Frightful’s Mountain. They unanimously voted to keep reading more! I couldn’t be happier!
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We’ve seriously lost touch with where our food comes from. If you are reading this now, someone in your family at some point in time either hunted or knew someone who hunted. Or, perhaps they were a farmer and traded some of their crop for valuable, wild protein. People hunt and fish for the challenge of it. Pitting one’s own insights and abilities against Mother Nature…..the ultimate challenge. People also hunt to put food on the table. In many other countries, wild game is available in food markets, usually supplied by wild farmers or hunters. I hunt and I have also raised animals for food. I see no difference in either. Hunting is fun because you are out in the middle of creation, usually in an area you don’t know very well. The animal you are after knows it much better. If you even see a deer, bear, elk, whatever, that is exciting enough. Taking one home to feed your family and friends is just icing on the cake. Killing an animal does not make the hunt a success…at least not in my mind. Getting out an enjoying the woods or the marsh, watching the sun come up, sipping a good cup of coffee, and retelling old stories with good friends – that’s what “the hunt” is all about.
I’ve seen roadkill deer a number of times and also feel a sense of melancholy. Not so much because the deer died tragically on a highway or road, but because that animal was wasted – swept up and tossed away like refuse. If you’ve ever driven through the Pennsylvania Wilds, you’ll see dozens of roadkill deer. Truly a bummer.
My two cents….don’t shield your kids from this kind of thing. In fact, teach them where their food comes from. Show them. If you have a garden, great! Get them involved by planting seedlings, tending the garden, harvesting the crop, and then preparing the food for the table. If you eat meat, take them to a farm that produces food for consumption – chickens, turkies, hogs, etc. Choose an animal, have it butchered and prepared for you, and then take it home and eat it. That process alone is priceless and will teach your kids to truly appreciate the animals that provide sustenance. We live in a fast food world where instant gratification has become the norm. We’ve lost touch with where our food comes from, how it was raised, what it ate, how it was prepared for the table. We need to get back there….somehow. As individuals….as a community.
Have you read the Omnivore’s Dilemma? Great read. I highly recommend it to anyone….vegans, meat eaters, hunters, chefs, etc.
Very best,
Nate
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Thanks for your comments, Nate. I agree with much of what you wrote. I know that my comments can seem somewhat hypocritical because my husband both sport fished and fished commercially for years. Our two young sons tend lobster traps and have learned so much from that “chore” and love it dearly. Likewise, they love to care for our garden and enjoy the vegetables they grow much more than the ones that we purchase. That being said, I do think that seeing the deer, upside down, feet tied together, and bloody seemed like a bit much for their age at the time. Just my humble opinion. It reminds me of when two separate whales washed up on Cape Hedge and Long Beach in Rockport. My boys are OBSESSED with marine life. 1/2 of me thought that seeing the amazing creatures would have been a huge learning experience. 1/2 of me knew it would really make them tremendously sad. Thanks for the book recommendation. I have not read it, but certainly will.
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Great post. And of course, I support the constitutional right to “arm bears”. I go hunting my self. However I’m armed only with a telephoto lens on my camera, but not a great one. And so in order for me to catch my “prey” I need to get real close to them…. unlike “hunting” with a long range rifle and laser scope where you can simply point the laser beam and take the shot. the sport is in the hunt not pulling the trigger.
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I remember how devastated I was to hear from one of our guides in Africa that the final male lion from a resident pride had recently been killed….by a 10 year old son of a farmer. While I understood the need to protect ones cattle, etc. it made me so sad to be told how easy it was to shoot him….easy enough that a 10 year old could do it.
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Great story and I like the transgressions too. Thanks
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Nicole,
Very good story indeed life and death is all part of the big circle of life and I see this very differently today than I did years ago. I grew up with Native Americans in NM who taught me a lot about hunting and respect of both life and wildlife, all the way around. The traditions and respect even when hunting are what always amazed me (Lot’s of prayer’s, thoughts, respect to wildlife for providing life in death – each step of the way Pre and Post hunt…Very little is not used).
Passing knowledge to the younger generation is a key to preserving cultural heritage. “They’re (elders) always willing to answer questions.” But sometimes nobody asks.” – George Toya
Recommendation here book I have many at home this one is very special to me as we walked the same path back in late 60’s:
Hunting Sacred – Everything Listens:
A Pueblo Indian Man’s Oral Tradition Legacy
By Larry Littlebird
“Thirty-five years ago Larry Littlebird let me hear a song, a singing of being, seeing and healing. It stayed with me ever after. Now here he is sharing it! These songs and tellings, this little teaching book – deceptive in its slimness and grace – tells of how to be, in the deepest ways.”
Gary Snyder
Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet and Essayist
Dave:-) & Kim:-)
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