The White-tailed Deer is one of the most prevalent woodland mammals in Maritime Canada. They are very present in our world but how much do we really know about them?

The White-tailed Deer is one of the most prevalent woodland mammals in Eastern North America. Not just a creature of the forest, they are seen everywhere, munching on tulips and new plants in spring gardens, and destroying fruit trees Occasionally they are rescued from city streets, are a menace on the highways, found dead on the side of the road, and often seen strapped to the hoods of cars during the Fall hunting season. For many rural people having a store of venison for the winter is taken as a birthright.

 

Despite their pesky behaviour we are thrilled to see deer. Children love them - especially the fawns. We will swerve and risk our own lives to avoid hitting them. They are very present in our world but really how much do we really know about them?

 

Wayne Bruhm is an amateur naturalist and hunter who lives in the Wentzell’s Lake area of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. His ancestor’s first settled along the La Have River in 1723. Wayne has worked at a variety of jobs including at the Michelin Tire Plant and now he spends a great deal of his time studying deer. Before going to the forest he covers his scent with his secret formula that he makes in the Spring. He observes how the deer mate, where they bed for the night, how they survive the winter and how they avoid their arch enemies, the coyotes, and for good measure examines their scat to determine what they are eating.

 

Wayne has even given names to each member of the group he has watched over in the old growth forest near his home. He worries about the sick and the old ones and feeds them with apples and carrots in hard times. He has set up remote motion triggered cameras to record their behaviour. Indeed Wayne probably knows more about deer than most biologists with PhD’s. He loves to introduce them to children.

 

And every Fall he shoots one for meat.

 

In this film we will spend time with Wayne over the four seasons and learn about deer.

 

Watch Trailer :  https://vimeo.com/117436322

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Watch Film : https://vimeo.com/147934408

 

Premiere at the Atlantic Film Festival

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Broadcast on PBS

 

To order a DVD contact:  kentmartin@eastlink.ca

 

 

Produced by: Unceasing Play Productions

Directed and Photographed by: Kent Martin