I have not often experienced wild animals seeking me out, but that was just what happened last summer while I was hiking. I was a bit nervous, but in the end I felt like a Disney Princess!
Last summer, I got to experience an interaction with some deer while I hiked in Bogd Khan Uul mountain. Although the trail is very popular and you’ll see many people enjoying the summer weather on the trail, the deer will walk right alongside you. This was a totally new experience for me! I have seen many deer in my life, but usually they are skittish and not easy to get a close look at.
These deer were large! I had never been so close to a deer before, and I never realized just how large they were. Before they approached me, I had a chance to watch them interact with the world. They were eating the bushes and shrubs that lined the trail. The deer have very square-looking teeth that help them eat the shrubs, and they use a similar chewing motion that you see in cows, where their mouth rotates almost in a circular pattern. When the deer approached me, I could really see their antlers growing in. What is cool about the way that antlers grow is that they do not start as the hard white bones we might picture. In fact, when they are growing, they look like they’re covered in velvet. There is a soft fur surrounding them.
