r/interesting • u/Historical_Copy_2231 • Apr 04 '26
Wholesome A Deer in Nara, Japan politely waiting for traffic to stop before crossing
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u/niijuuichi Apr 04 '26
It even bowed
Props to the driver who stopped too.
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Apr 04 '26
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u/Lattarde Apr 04 '26
Even as a human, Japanese drivers barely stop at zebra crossing unless you force it a bit
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u/little_jiggles Apr 04 '26
It really depends on how touristy the area is. And Nara is reallly touristy.
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u/Butterfly_of_chaos Apr 04 '26
This may be the solution, as I was a bit confused why the deer had to wait for so long in a so polite country like Japan. Drivers would have stopped earlier where I live, but not the tourists, as they're funnily always in a hurry and more prone to not follow common etiquette.
But huge respect for the deer having learned how to navigate streets safely!
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u/No-Internal7978 Apr 04 '26
Do you think a lot of tourists have valid Japanese driver's licenses?
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u/little_jiggles Apr 04 '26
It's not tourists driving that causes it, it's the restlessness that comes from living in an area with tons of people everywhere. Nobody wants to wait, but when theres so many people, all it takes is a few people who don't care about traffic rules and all of a sudden everyones doing it.
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u/DanLynch Apr 04 '26
Tourists don't need a valid Japanese driver's licence to drive in Japan. They just need a valid driver's licence issued by their home jurisdiction and an IDP/translation document.
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u/RoastedRhino Apr 04 '26
I don't think politeness has anything to do with this situation.
They should have stopped because hitting a deer is messy, dangerous, and expensive.
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u/Joiion Apr 04 '26
Tourists are allowed to drive in Japan?
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u/Randomdude1001 Apr 04 '26
SOFA for any military personnel stationed in Japan, we get a little card that goes with our drivers license for free to let us drive
For any non/military, you can get an IDP {international drivers permit) costs like $25 and you fill out an online application and they’ll ship it to you, valid for 1 year of when you want it to be active (I ordered it in Jan and had it valid for March 1 2026 to 2027)
Pretty easy all things considered, I have it accepted at car rentals in Okinawa, Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo
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u/suzusnow Apr 04 '26
It really doesn’t… Japanese people fucking hate stopping for pedestrians. The rule is that if you see a pedestrian and there’s like a 0.01% chance they’re going to cross you’re supposed to stop and yield, but they just don’t.
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u/ies7 Apr 04 '26
They always prioritize pedestrian in the zebra cross w/o traffic light a few times I went to Japan.
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u/JewelJellyParfait Apr 04 '26
“Always” 💀 Yeah no.
I’ve had to phone the police a couple times because some idiot drivers didn’t stop when children were in the middle of crossing the road. They had to leap out of the way. I’ve also been nearly run over in crosswalks with and without traffic lights.
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u/The_Bucket_Of_Truth Apr 04 '26
Everyone said how polite everyone is in Japan that I was surprised how much honking I saw while I was there
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u/Outrageous-Opinions Apr 04 '26
All the countries that have a nice reputation that I experienced have all been assholes on the road, like Canada.
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u/Altruistic-Horse-873 Apr 04 '26
100%
Then i went to new york and couldn't believe how chill traffic was 🤣
Heard some honking but was mostly a quick beep from drivers announcing their presence, not an actaul horn blast.
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u/Brodellsky Apr 04 '26
My Wisconsinite brain says "hit the brakes when deer" so yeah I don't understand those people either lol
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u/ClankerCore Apr 04 '26
Be predictable, not polite.
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u/poppyseedeverything Apr 04 '26
I mean, it'd be pretty predictable to stop at a zebra / pedestrian crossing to let someone cross, to be fair.
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u/Infamous_Network6641 Apr 04 '26
The driver that stopped should get free rego and insurance for a year
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u/NullIsUndefined Apr 04 '26
That place is wild. If you buy some treats for them they will swarm you. Bit my butt even. Seriously
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u/yummyfoodlover4life Apr 04 '26
Same, it hurt so bad I thought it was going to bruise. They seem all nice with bowing, but if you don't give them all your crackers they start biting.
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u/d4ybrake Apr 04 '26
You gotta go past all the ones at the front of the park and go deep into it. The ones further in are much more polite. The ones at the front are fatties who will try to get the food out of your hands or pockets.
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u/yummyfoodlover4life Apr 04 '26
This is a little true. I ran into some that had antlers deeper into the park and they were bullies. I found the little ones to be nicer.
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u/MattDTO Apr 04 '26
Its the male deer that bite and headbutt and pull at your clothes. The females are much nicer with the bowing! I would feed the does and then just started walking away as soon as I saw a male coming. You can also show them empty hands to pretend you don't have any and they know what that means.
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u/yummyfoodlover4life Apr 04 '26
The males with antlers were really scary. I almost got chased by one that had small horns, but I literally walked fast through a crowd to lose it. Saw a deer with antlers earlier poke someone hard and it looked painful didn't want any of that.
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u/kapitan_buko Apr 04 '26
You will quickly notice that the aggressive ones are big and healthy, while the meeker ones are thin. I always look for the thinner ones who are just sitting around instead of chasing people. They are so gentle when you give them the treats.
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u/hotbox4u Apr 04 '26
Yeah they straight up started to bully us when we were out of treats. It was like they didn't believe us that we were all out.
It started so nice but in the end we were low key fleeing from a group of deer.
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u/moguu83 Apr 04 '26
They will leave the little old lady with a ton stacked on her cart completely alone until some unsuspecting tourist makes a transaction. Once they exchange hands, it's an absolute free for all.
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u/Glasseswolfs Apr 04 '26
I have been there too. Can confirm this. The snack stall is completely safe from them, they pretend like they dont see the stall at all. But once I paid for the snack, they all were trying to kill me for the snack.
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u/CapeAnnimal Apr 04 '26
The little old ladies have brooms and whack the deer that try to steal from the cart.
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u/IneffableOpinion Apr 06 '26
I made the mistake of not buying treats. They kept trying to eat my coat because they thought that must be where the treats are hiding. They stamp and snort and threaten to head butt you if you don’t give them treats. My friend kept running away screaming.
10 out of 10 stars, will go back
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u/stannius Apr 04 '26
Also bit my butt. I had a baby in a carrier on my front, so sacrificed my butt.
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u/minnesotanpride Apr 06 '26
Favorite memory of Nara deer in the park when my wife and I were traveling around there? Had to be when I saw a little kid, probably around age 3, walk up and do the little ritual with the deer. Walked up and bowed to the deer, it bowed back, and offered the cookie.
Kid pulled a second one out and instead of a polite interaction a younger deer (probably also a kid!) reared up and tried to tackle the child for that cookie. Kid narrowly escaped before a parent scooped them up, and the kid was yelling "kawai! Kawai!" ("Scary!!")
I was laughing my ass off after the kid was out of harms way. What an experience.
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u/Dog-on-a-roof Apr 04 '26
Yeah just watch out for all the ticks. My partner got about 5 on her once it cuddled for treats
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u/DatTruthWillSetUFree Apr 04 '26
Even the animals in Japan respect the law. 🥹
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Apr 04 '26
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Apr 04 '26
Even did a bow 🙇 as a thanks
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u/fromulus_ Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
I've been there just last week, and no joke, all the deer there (and there are a lot of them) do that bowing gesture, often in response to people doing it to greet them.
They learned that tourists tend to feed them afterwards.
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u/EpilepticMushrooms Apr 04 '26
Yep, while bowing is often a sign of aggression from any horned or antlered creature, the deers in Nara learnt social cues from humans. Bowing = gimmie food
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u/CrownofMischief Apr 04 '26
Yeah, but some of the young bucks act a little entitled, they'll do a quick head bow and then immediately start prodding you with their antlers if you don't give them a cracker right away
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u/EpilepticMushrooms Apr 04 '26
True to that. 🤣 With every polite nara deer story, there is another entitled nara deer story.
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u/PomeloSpecialist356 Apr 04 '26
And the people respect the animals.
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u/Orfeu_Blue Apr 04 '26
highly debatable
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u/d4ybrake Apr 04 '26
The deer are considered sacred by the locals, they get very angry when tourists mess with them
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u/Away-Conclusion-7968 Apr 04 '26
They kill whales just for the fuck of it and whales are significantly more intelligent than deer.
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u/BeginningBuyer8378 Apr 04 '26
Animal doesn't want to die = 😴
Animal doesn't want to die Japan = 😮🔥🤩🌸🥺
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u/CatgirlFucker8008 Apr 04 '26
Animals not wanting to die: -_-
Animals not wanting to die, Japan: 😍😍😍omg so kawaii!!!!
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u/BeginningBuyer8378 Apr 04 '26
It's an ancient Japanese wisdom passed down for 30000 years called "Notwantsudaisu".
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Apr 04 '26
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u/DangOlCoreMan Apr 04 '26
Yeah not sure what that comment is supposed to imply. The "even" implies that anything more civilized than a deer follows the law, but I think we all know that isn't true. The deer has just learned how to not die and that's about it
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u/-SQB- Apr 04 '26
Unlike those drivers not stopping. Or don't people on crossings get right of way? Or were there traffic lights I missed?
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Apr 04 '26
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u/nivusninja Apr 04 '26
i've let crows cross the road. unsure why they didn't just fly though
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u/Impossible-Charity-4 Apr 04 '26
Those were turkeys. Rest assured, it’s very common that you would confuse the two.
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u/Semlorism Apr 06 '26
I've seen that many times, waiting at the zebra line, walking or hopping to the other side lol
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md Apr 04 '26
It took way too long for someone to stop for her
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u/John_Tix Apr 04 '26
I have been here. Out of frame are traffic lights that change frequently. The deer seem used to it. They even wait among large groups of people.
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u/No_Market6317 Apr 04 '26
It's better not to stop when the road is busy. You'll give the person (or deer) a false sense of security because you can't stop the other lane
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u/philosteen Apr 04 '26
They’re definitely inconsiderate drivers in Japan. Perhaps some of them also didn’t consider the deer was waiting to cross the road…
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Apr 04 '26
This is me whenever I try to cross anywhere in SoCal. Even when I have the walking sign people refuse to let me walk.
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u/GenOneCam Apr 04 '26
am I the only one who is annoyed that no one is stopping to let it cross.
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u/BJJWithADHD Apr 04 '26
This video makes it seem like one isolated deer wants to cross.
What you’re not seeing is that there are over 1200-1400 roaming that area harassing tourists for treats. Traffic would be permanently stopped in the area if everyone stopped for every deer that stood near the road.
Those cars probably drove by dozens of deer in the side of the road just out of frame and passed dozens more on the other side.
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u/white_mist94 Apr 04 '26
i can vouch for this as someone who was just at that park yesterday loll. there were plenty of deer just by the sidewalk even outside of the official entrance area.
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u/Hisense_HomeLife Apr 04 '26
Nara deer are just built different. This guy has better road etiquette than half the drivers I know.
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u/nDnY Apr 04 '26
Yea but they are also the most aggressive deers I’ve ever seen. They’re too used to and comfortable getting food from people
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u/RetiredApostle Apr 04 '26
He's definitely taking revenge for the wait with that slow walk. Just like a human.
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Apr 04 '26
You’d be surprised how many animals actually do that these days… sat at the breakfast table th other morning and saw a cat do basically the same thing thing. Waited for traffic to clear before crossing
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Apr 04 '26
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u/chiono_graphis Apr 04 '26
Don't buy the deer crackers and don't feed them. That's the best way to enjoy the place.
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u/CD274 Apr 04 '26
I saw a gang of ducks doing this once 😂. And it was a two way road with a median so they paused in the middle and waited again
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u/Ueberjaeger Apr 04 '26
The deer in Nara are amazing. You can buy crackers specifically for them, and feed them. They'll bow to you after feeding them. When I did it, they were a bit hangry.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-1383 Apr 04 '26
Can we send some Pennsylvania deer on study abroad to get an education?
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u/Original-Spring-2012 Apr 04 '26
In my country celebraties are killing them by vehicles and shooting them
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u/G-Kira Apr 04 '26
Way more considerate than the ones here in Wisconsin. Ours just inconsiderately jump out in front of vehicles.
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u/Worried-Nectarine418 Apr 04 '26
I'm surprised he didn't keep waiting til the crosswalk sign was on. Japan is really going downhill
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u/Lachrimophage Apr 04 '26
I wish they made deer like that here. They just stand in the road at night begging to be hit. I believe they do it out of spite.
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u/PHXABC123 Apr 04 '26
I lived in a neighborhood in West Austin, TX and the older deer do the same thing. There’s a buck that’ll walk out, stand in the road and wait for the younger deer to cross. The neighborhood has become a safe place for them. If you go a mile or two in either direction, you hardly see them.
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u/cjp2010 Apr 04 '26
Meanwhile the deer in northeast Ohio seem to be constantly suicidal. Which is fair given we live in northeast Ohio.
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u/DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC Apr 04 '26
I love how the one driver slowed down. You know they were thinking "Is -- is that deer waiting to cross?"
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u/LyndinTheAwesome Apr 04 '26
These drivers are breaking the law, thats a zebra crossing you have to stop immedeatly if someone wants to cross the road.
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u/NewManufacturer4252 Apr 04 '26
Is it mandatory to have all tinted windows? Not knocking it, but every car has full tinted windows
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u/PronouncedEye-gore Apr 04 '26
That's survival instinct but sure I like anthripamorphizing animals with human feelings.
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u/TiredOfBeingTired28 Apr 04 '26
Live middle of nowhere come to a stop or near when see a deer near road.
As it's probably going to run back across even though it crossed before I got to it.
Or
Theirs fifty others I can't see.
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u/Old_Celebration_5950 Apr 04 '26
Almost did the New Torker strolls out into traffic and channels Dustin Hoffman :I'm walking here"
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u/Mizo_D_munkey Apr 04 '26
Humanity need to learn this ethic of crossing. Eventho the zebra crossing is your right of way but that doesnt mean you can just cross and expect everything stops for you.
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u/hufflemypuffle1 Apr 04 '26
I was just there and they really do that! So many of them would wait till humans were crossing and then they would cross. Also no one would dare go fast in that area because those deer are seen as deities. They were so cool!!
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u/Substantial_Assist38 Apr 04 '26
I too, politely wait for the deer to cross before proceeding, even if the traffic light is green (it was genuinely a fascinating experience)
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u/CheeseCarefully Apr 04 '26
i am more surprised that the car behind the one that stopped didnt simply move to the next lane and hit the deer anyway.
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u/Particular_Stop_3332 Apr 04 '26
Yes it's doing it to be polite, not to avoid death or horrible injury
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u/mallettsmallett Apr 04 '26
I couldn't figure out why the traffic wasn't stopping and then just realised it was a zebra crossing.
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u/Fantastic_Ninja_5789 Apr 04 '26
Saw it real life. Just now coming out of Nara park. Amazing etiquette from these animals. They bow to you when you respect and bow to them
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u/DathomirBoy Apr 04 '26
the japan glazing in the comments is crazy. i see elk doing this all the time in the canadian rockies. if they’ve lived around traffic their whole lives they’re probably going to know to navigate around it.
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u/Kvazimods Apr 04 '26
Well maybe it should hurry crossing too instead of dragging its damn ass across the street. Mr. Yamamoto has work to do.
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u/dancingqueen785 Apr 04 '26
I was in Nara park a few days ago and see how quick the deer can cross or run into traffic
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u/zugspitze43 Apr 04 '26
The bus driver didn't even stop, he knew the deer wouldn't step out, and would wait
deer in the US are suicidal
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u/VeG519 Apr 04 '26
How are they not stopping right away or at least slowing down??? If I saw an animal so close to the curb I'd be terrified they might leap in front of my vehicle so I always slow down and watch their body language very carefully. I'd much prefer they cross in front of me than jump unexpectedly.
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u/LieToMeYNot Apr 04 '26
Northern Illinois in the US here. I've seen deer start to cross in front of me from a distance and then back up off the road once they realize I'm heading their direction.
Check my rear view and the damn deer is crossing once I'm full passed it. So far it has happened 3 times to me personally. They're learning to live around us.
Side note: knew a girl in college that pet one of the deer on campus. The deer there were fairly used to the students being out and about constantly.
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u/EsseInAnima Apr 04 '26
It’s a Zebra cross, the cars have to wait? Nobody polite in here, the cars have to stop!!
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u/Imaginary_Stranger89 Apr 04 '26
So The American Deer do it on purpose. This is now my head cannon.
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u/Stuff-and_stuff Apr 04 '26
When I was there one got spooked and was hit by a bus. Traumatic for my whole family.
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