Movie Time: Touching the Wild
Joe Hutto does it again! The same wildlife researcher who gave us a peak into the lives of wild turkeys, shares with us the experience he has gained by living with wild mule deer for seven years. He was allowed unprecedented access and insight into the minds and behavior of these amazing animals.
Here is a scene from the documentary where he gets accepted by the matriarch who he calls Raggedy Ann.
After he was accepted by the matriarch, he was allowed to walk among them, was groomed by them (something that only occurs within a deer family) and was even allowed to lie with a pregnant doe talking to and feeling her fawns kicking in her belly. By spending every day among the herd, he was able to learn individual and group dynamics and unveil just how much we have in common with these delicate beings.
He says, “People think ruminants [like mule deer] in general are just biological machines that turn grass into meat and they just go around with their heads down, digesting food and become you know, a pile of flesh and bones. It’s just not like that at all. They’re out there living a real life in a real society and they have vastly different personalities, which is very important.”
You can watch the full video for free at PBS. It’s also available at Netflix, Amazon and Youtube. It’s based on the book Touching the Wild: Living with the Mule Deer of Deadman Gulch.