Behavior of the white-tailed deer is certainly one of the more interesting areas of study to sportsmen, not only in Mississippi, but also throughout all areas in the range of this subspecies. Deer enthusiasts simply want to know what a deer of either sex is doing, why it is doing it and where it is doing it. Encounters with deer vary from happenstance roadside viewing and backyard visits to the purposeful pursuit of deer for sport hunting with the desire to harvest the animal.

As the deer enthusiast's knowledge of deer behavior increases, their chance of being in an area at the proper time to encounter a deer increases. Outings by sportsmen then become more productive and more satisfying when deer activity is observed and to some degree is understood.

Deer are social creatures and, much like man, have a definite social structure. With this social structure comes a complex set of rules with which every deer in the herd must comply. These rules within the deer herd demand a method of communication whereby deer can react and respond to each other, establish herd hierarchy, or pecking order, and mutually warn each other of potential danger.

A socially intact deer herd, which is complete with doe/fawn family groups and buck groups, can intermingle with relative calm because dominance is established. Deer understand the difference between dominance and leadership. For example, a mature doe may be in a subordinate role to a specific buck, but clearly be the leader of the deer herd. The deer, like most of the animal world, reacts, cooperates, and communicates with other members to increase chances for survival.

During the above-mentioned aggressive behavior between deer, and their visual communication efforts to mutually warn fellow members of potential danger, other cues are being used simultaneously to reinforce the visual cues. These signals are called vocal cues, some of which are anecdotal. Others are simply the sounds deer make to communicate with each other. These vocal cues may certainly be used solely to communicate a response which visual cues may fail to elicit.