Animal Instinct:

How is it that animals can sense whether we mean them harm or not? How much do they understand when we talk to them? Is it just the sound of our voice or do they understand? I think they understand enough and I will give an example of why I think this way. By the way, I do talk to all the animals when I'm out around them. 

It is a long story so I will make it short. We had a buck deer we named Junior and he came around and hung out for several years. He let me pick ice balls and ticks from him and rub his nose. He had two other bucks that he traveled with - one we called Uno as he only had one antler and the other Hatrack as he shook his antlers off for me one year. I made a hat rack that is on the back of our door from them. 

On with the story - one year it was only a few days from hunting season and Hatrack showed up alone. I was sitting at the picnic table talking to him and told him Junior needed to come here to be safer where he wouldn't be hunted. Hatrack turned and walked off. Two days later I looked out and here come Hatrack with Junior and Uno in tow. They would stay with us until I told them hunting season was over. 

Junior came around many years until one year he failed to show up and I was concerned. Then when he was old he came back with a herd of about a dozen deer. He waited for me to come out and I walked right in the midst of the herd and gave him some nose rubs. He had his family now and he eventually walked off and I didn't see him again. I will miss Junior until the day I die. He was a faithful and loyal friend and he knew he was safe with us. 

There were enough occasions in the years that he came to visit that it was clear to me that he understood what I was telling him.