deer dont drink water

[svrn]

in researching  about scouting for the upcoming hunting season i found a lot of info saying that deer dont drink water unless it is in a very arid climate. They get enough water from licking the dew off the elaves and the food they eat. What other animals dont drink water?

What asre people thoughts on this?

[Dr. D]

The deer in my area do go down to the river and Drink. We are near desert climate. Not much wildlife outside of deer, birds, reptiles. I would imagine most snakes can't travel to a decent water source and probably get enough from the mice they consume.

[goodsamaritan]

Water is NOT preferred by people and primates.

Look at all the non water drinks being sold commercially... that is the big bad clue that people do not prefer pure water.

[Haai]

in researching  about scouting for the upcoming hunting season i found a lot of info saying that deer dont drink water unless it is in a very arid climate. They get enough water from licking the dew off the elaves and the food they eat. What other animals dont drink water?

What asre people thoughts on this?

I've seen deer drink water.

[miles]

I've bow-hunted deer, and the default way of doing this is to get to a lake before dawn/dusk and camp there waiting for the deer to come past for their twice-daily drink of water, which they take as they're moving between their eating-place and their sleeping-place. There's always deer poo around lakes in deer country. I've also hunted deer by running after a herd and spearing them, or by just coming across them by luck hiding in some bushes when I'm out with my bow. If you don't look directly at them you can get closer to them before they run away; because they think you haven't seen them... Same when I ran after them, if I walked at an angle to the herd and didn't look at them, I could get closer before I had to sprint...

[Dr. D]

Water is NOT preferred by people and primates.

Look at all the non water drinks being sold commercially... that is the big bad clue that people do not prefer pure water.

I've grown quite fond of my iodine/sea salt mix. Reading how Eskimos don't get scurvy because of iodine seemed reason enough to drink it with frequency. Also, how would they get "8 glasses of water a day"? Other than cooking ice.

Speaking of cold climates, do those predators (polar bears, wolves) drink salt water? I think they get a lot of moisture from raw meat.

[jessica]

Water is NOT preferred by people and primates.

Look at all the non water drinks being sold commercially... that is the big bad clue that people do not prefer pure water.

GS I think its all about where you live.  I can tell you were I grew up, in the summer time its 100 degrees and 3 percent humidity, Humans there prefer waters, LOT of water.  the natives gravitated to the natural springs and that is why my town is where it is.  You sweat in that climate and its like the water is sucked right out of you.  Here in Idaho its very humid even when its 100 degrees(like yesterday, aack!) and so you sweat but it doesn't evaporate so its not really that efficient of a system as it is in more arid places.  I am sure you are more used to being in humid climes, GS, and do not sweat as profusely as I do, because my body is not accustomed to humidity.  This is likely why you probably require way less water then I do.

I think there is so much going on besides preference for water or not.

Think about how in summer we are given more foods with high sugars, like fruits and berries.  It is known that with higher blood glucose we are likely to hold on to much more water in our bodies, so it is a natural part of our bodies keeping us hydrated when it is hot.  That's why things like melons are so super hydrating, simple sugars, minerals and a lot of water.

So all of these things, climate, humidity, ethnicity, seasonality, food source, all of those things come into play.

[CitrusHigh]

That's a pretty bold statement GS. One that doesn't jive with what I've observed. Animals love water and will go through great lengths to seek it out and acquire it.

Also are you really trying to use the mutant concepts of the modern soft drink industry to show that people intrinsically search out sources of moisture other than drinking straight water.

Water is where it starts, if you don't think that' maybe yours is not sufficiently power and structure filled, the way it comes out of the ground.

[Projectile Vomit]

I've bow-hunted deer...

Where do you bowhunt deer, Miles? I thought bowhunting was illegal in the UK, and throughout most of Europe.

I've also hunted deer by running after a herd and spearing them...

Wow, are you suggesting you can run fast enough to catch up with a herd of deer? I also hunt, and this statement sounds a bit on the fanciful side to me.

At any rate, I have also seen a wide range of animals, from deer, to other mammals, to birds and reptiles, and even insects drink water. I've always lived in temperate regions, so this isn't the desert we're talking about. I've also seen these animals drink in all four seasons, spring through winter. So I'm of the opinion that the starting assumption of this thread is simply false. Deer do drink water, most other animals do as well, and I don't see any particular reason why we (and other primates) shouldn't do so.

[svrn]

Maybe it is false, quite a few people on the internet do say this when talking about hunting.

anyway iv tried all sorts of spring water including some iv harvested myself and it all seems to just make me thirstier.

[Inger]

Our sheep always drink water, and they only get hay and in summer only pasture feed. When it is rainy they do not drink, they get enough from the wet grass. In winter they even eat a lot of snow!

If you live in the rain forest and very humid, and eat oysters with salty juice, and coconutwater, juicy fruit... I believe you need no extra water. But most do not live like that..

[miles]

Where do you bowhunt deer, Miles? I thought bowhunting was illegal in the UK, and throughout most of Europe.

Wow, are you suggesting you can run fast enough to catch up with a herd of deer? I also hunt, and this statement sounds a bit on the fanciful side to me.

  I'm not going to tell you where I've bow-hunted deer, but the only countries I've spent much time in since I was a child are England and Sweden. Bow-hunting is legal in several European countries: Denmark; Spain; Italy; Bulgaria; Macedonia; and more which I don't recall.

And yes, I did run fast enough to catch up with a herd of deer. I chased them into a gap in a fence on top of a wall, and they had to jump through it one by one, about 15 of them, and I got one of the last ones =) I actually tried sprinting straight after the deer in the open before this and I was not far behind them actually... I chased them down hill. I spent several hours stalking them across plains, hills and dales; sometimes walking; running; or sprinting, before I got it right. I could have easily got these deer with my bow when I came across them grazing in a field, but there was too much chance of being seen as it was open country(so I didn't even have my bow with me), and I did not want people to see me with a bow for some reason.