This may be anthropomorphizing greatly, but I am reminded of a story a friend's WWII vet father used to relate every once in a while when he was trying to illustrate how we kids needed to toughen up. He went all through basic and deployed to the European theatre with the same bunch of guys. He says there was one fellow that shirked every detail, cut corners everywhere, but was a mean son-of-a-biscuit. Another guy was jovial, everybody's best buddy, but just couldn't help but react poorly whenever things got tough. In one particular bad stretch of battle the slacker s-o-b had a leg blown off, handed off his grenades and ammo to his buddies, and used his belt as a tourniquet. He was left behind. They picked him up two days later. He had managed to mop up two enemy with nothing more than his knife. The happy-go-lucky guy took a bullet in the shoulder and promptly died.
Hard to say whether deer have differing philosophies or reactions to adversity as humans do. But I know dogs sure as heck do!
I have always wanted a decent study done on deer being hit with an arrow when unaware of the shooter, versus those hit when aware, versus those hit when aware and on elevated alert. Of the three, I would much rather stick a deer with it'd head down munching browse while it is humming a happy little tune to itself about how it is a wunnerful day to be alive! Personally, my shortest trail was under twenty yards from where he was hit, and it was on a buck in rut that knew exactly where I was, what I was doing, and that I had been the one to deal the death blow to his boiler room. But he was also in with a bunch of does that were not alarmed and here at the peak of estrus. He died trying to get a leg up on one of them! He went out working on his favorite part of the year!
