For the old timers out there,how much do you think game has learned over the decades?

[jhjimbo]

For the old timers out there,how much do you think game has learned over the decades?

[jhjimbo]

When i first started driving i noticed a crow on some road kill would leave the animal and fly way up to the power wires while the car went by. Now, i notice when they see a car coming they jump back onto the shoulder or maybe up to the top of a guard rail until the car goes by. Are they learning?
Also, i see deer looking up now more than years ago - are they smarter?

[Pmacc60]

I think its more animals having closer interaction with humans and our machines. My son sits in his deer stand and watches a neighbor work in his field as soon as he stops the deer come out on Q

[ozarkghost]

I think part of it is that we don't realize how smart animals really are, but yeah they adapt to situations around them as a survival reflex.

[Guest]

Hogs are definitely getting smarter, and they weren't dumb to start with. Rattlesnakes are not rattling as much, because of the feral hog overpopulation, and I have noticed a lot more deer looking up. Coyotes, once suckers for a cottontail squealer, are learning to be very sneaky in their approach. Survival of the smartest?

[FirstBubba]

Yeah! No. The deer on the river have organized classes for math and science.
Unfortunately for them, (good for me!) they still give on to their baser needs. Reproductive sex, wheat pastures, bedding areas and water
The fact that their cognitive thinking lets them approach occupied blinds is just one od their few shortcomings.
Are they getting smarter? They're still here aren't they?
They are excellent at "multiplying" but are horrible at "past history"! LOL!

[Edward J. Palumbo]

I see more coyotes adapting to habitat encroachment and suburban living (Portland), and they appear to be much more cautious and circumspect in areas where we've seen them and studied their behavior before.

[WA Mtnhunter]

All the coyotes around my place have gotten 300-yard-smart. The deer know what time the black dog goes in, too. So I guess you can educate them.

[jhjimbo]

One guy has a groundhog problem and asked us to help him get rid of them. I said why don't you carry your rifle on the tractor and shoot one when you see it. He said i tried that. He said now i have what i call throttle chucks. Every time i let up on the throttle to take a shot, they head for their hole.

[FirstBubba]

They're dumb animals, not "stupid" animals! LOL!
The tetm "dumb animals" has nothing to do with their ability to learn and adapt. It just means that deer won't always cross at the "Deer Crossing" signs!

[DakotaMan]

Deer look up in the trees now. They didn't do that when I was a kid. I've seen so much fishing pressure on some lakes that fish feed only at night.