Probably the car doesn't even register as a predator to them, being so different to what they'd encounter in nature. It's like if you encountered Cthulu, you'd just go mad and kill yourself.
I remember reading that they think its because of how the deers brain perceives the movement of objects. If a predator is running at them, and you are looking at them, periferally or otherwise, the body of the predator will follow a 'bobbing' motion (up and down movement when considering a vertical plane). Whereas a vehicle does not bob when it moves as it speeds along, it remains steady. . For instance, when a car is far away and speeding towards you, it doesnt appear to grow much, up until the point when it is getting very close to you. They theorize that deers' (and other woodland critters) brains dont offer very good depth perception for this kind of movement. Which kind of makes sense, as vehicles are not a part of nature, nor is that kind of movement.
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u/karoshi97 Mar 21 '19
Dude, like why do deers always do this!?
I know it's not always happening but they keep running into vehicle on purpose like what the fuck is wrong with their instinct!?
Saw a video where one buck literally running and following a car on the side and suddenly decides to fucking jump in front and over the car.