Five senses — smell, taste, hearing, sight and touch — are the physical assets a whitetail needs to survive. If any are lacking, a whitetail is doomed to perish before its time.
Of the five, a deer’s sense of smell is arguably the most important for survival. Its acute sense of smell allows it to detect predators long before they can be seen or heard. And its ability to smell allows whitetails to detect preferred foods, even when that food is buried under a foot of snow. In short, the white-tailed deer’s sense of smell is amazing.
Experience is the ultimate educator. I’ve seen uncountable examples of how a deer’s sense of smell allows it to be an incredible survivor. My first encounter with a deer’s ability to smell came when I was a boy. My dad and I were huddled next