Missouri Man Finds Out Why You Don't Pet Wild Deer the Hard Way

There are a million reasons why this was a bad idea, but a Missouri man learned one way petting a wild deer is a mistake the hard way.

Based on the video description, this happened in Union, Missouri. The guy shared the following factoid about how this special deer/man moment happened:

I was walking through the woods and saw the doe, petted it, she was surprised.

Before I get into the real problem with this, watch how Bambi turned on this guy quick.

It never ends well when you try to make human contact with a wild animal. It's especially a problem when the contact involves deer. My Backyard Life mentions the natural fear that deer have of humans. When it involves a fawn, you could end up on the wrong end of a mother deer's fury. Or, your scent on the deer could cause the fawn to be shunned by the rest of the herd.

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The "can I safely pet a deer" question led to a colorful conversation on Quora which included this video share of how deer can put a whooping on dudes.

Ouch. That's gonna leave a mark.

My family happens to live in a rural area here in the tri-states and often see deer coming and going out of the woods. Are they pretty? Sure. Do I need to pet them? NOPE.

LOOK: Here are the pets banned in each state

Because the regulation of exotic animals is left to states, some organizations, including The Humane Society of the United States, advocate for federal, standardized legislation that would ban owning large cats, bears, primates, and large poisonous snakes as pets.

Read on to see which pets are banned in your home state, as well as across the nation.