I've seen a few shows that talk about 6 1/2 and 7 1/2 year old deer. How long can a deer live. I shot one a few years ago that his teeth were worn down to the gums. Always wondered how old he was.

I always heard the could live 11-12 years if they died of old age however most don't due to many other reasons

A friend of mine killed a buck with a tag in its ear that had been released into the wild 12 years earlier. This goes against all I've read about the life span of deer dealing with the stress of life in the wild. Other factors prolly played into this like winter stress here in Alabama is not nearly as taxing as winter stress up north and this deer was released as part of a repopulation effort back when deer numbers were very low so food sources were plentiful.

Usually another year if I am after him.

Usually another year if I am after him.

I think I remember reading once about a deer that lived to be 29 in captivity. But the *average* is 1.5 years.

Lawdy that is funny!!!

I hand raised and released a doe (tagged) that raised twins every year before disappearing at 14 years old.Semi-rural subdivision that did allow hunting.

Personally, saw one the biologist aged at 9, but teeth aging is like hand grenades and horseshoes.

The soil type where a deer lives can have a big effect on how old it gets, barring hunting and cars. Any animal is only as good at survival as it's teeth are. In areas where the soil has a high content of abrasive material the teeth wear down faster.

I like lawdy's answer, and I concur. :)

That question got me to wondering so I did some looking around. Seems like the lifespan has a REALLY wide range. Iguess that means the answer is "it depends".

Have a head on my living room wall that is a buck I watched from just afer he was born until I killed him 17 years later. His teeth were about gone and his heavy rack was just two long skinny points on each side. Figured the coyotes would eat on him that winter, alive or dead. He was a pinto, so he was easy to spot. Watched a lot of hunters over the years that were within a few yards of him and never knew he was there. I was checked on the way out of the mountains and he was aged at 18 yrs. by the bioligist.

Woods Walker beat me to it. A deer living in sandy country might only go four or five years. Once the teeth go, it's pretty much over. The same with cows in the area that I live in. Some ranchers will not put supplemental feed on the ground because the cows pick up too much grit and wear their teeth off. Cows around here probably average ten to eleven years.

Woods Walker beat me to it. A deer living in sandy country might only go four or five years. Once the teeth go, it's pretty much over. The same with cows in the area that I live in. Some ranchers will not put supplemental feed on the ground because the cows pick up too much grit and wear their teeth off. Cows around here probably average ten to eleven years.

A very long time in captivity. On the wild not many live to get really old. I’ve killed does that aged (by tooth wear) over 10. And we’ve found around here that actual ages are actually older that what the tooth wear indicates. In ‘17 I killed a buck that aged 10.5 by cementum annuli testing. Most years I can catch up to one that is 5.5- 6.5 years old.

Not long if shot in the heart and lungs.,

There whole life

'There whole life"

Made me think about the last time someone, who realized that I am very old, asked me if I have lived here all my life-- I answered, "Not yet".

I don't think too many of them die of old age

I have it in good faith from folks who should know that Minnesota deer in Frisky's neck of the woods can expect to enjoy twice the normal longevity....provided they don't cross the highway!

Point taken Larry. I had to read it twice!

I think whoever asked you that Larry meant to date.,

It was back around 1998 on a rifle hunt on a ranch out of Sheridan, WY. One of the guys I was with killed a big muley buck that fish and game aged right at 9 years old. The bucks rack was fairly tall and wide but was kind of thin and spindly looking.

Larry; When people tell me, "Good to see you" my reply is "Good to be seen"

Wudstix; Better to be seen than viewed.....

I can't speak directly to how long a deer can live but I will say this. My father raised horses, ponies, sheep, goats, cats and dogs his entire life.

Some would say they were cared for better than his three wives. They were always fed and water on a schedule and no expense was spared when vet care or special food was required.

He had several horses and ponies live into there late thirties and early forties and one pony into its fifties. His dogs averaged around 18 years and cats 14 living in the barns.

Even the sheep and goats were extremely long lived. I attribute it all to the fact that they always had the food and water and nutrition they needed and that he never rushed feeding the stock.

When I was young I tried to change the layout and process for feeding thinking I could cut 2 1/2 hours off from morning and evening chores. In my mind at that time it was a tremendous waste of time the way everybody got a scratch on the head and a rub on the nose.

It wasn't until much later, and I realized that ALL of the animals he cared for lived well beyond everyone else's stock in the area that I realized that part of what he was doing was observing his animals to make sure they were healthy.

The other part of what he was doing was enjoying there company and putting some peace and sense of purpose in his life.

He lived to be eighty and died last year. Not sure how long deer can live but the doe behind the barn that raises her twins every year beside the pond has been there for at least a dozen. Good Day

Minnesota DNR has a triangular study area in N. Central Minnesota where they've been studying deer/wolf interactions for over 30 years, and the AVERAGE age doe in that area is a whopping 12 years old!!! Without tought winters and wolves I'd have to think they'd live even longer elsewhere.

Deer are individuals, like humans, some may live to be old, some not, but once read (may have been on this site) where a identifiable wild doe although in a protected area, like a college campus or something, was a least 21 or 22 years old and had fawns right right up until her last year...

I had a Percheron draft horse I logged with that was 32. Put him out to pasture and he died at 36. Strongest and smartest horse I ever used. Should have kept him working. I never had to lead him. Chain a tree onto his triple tree, say “yard Tony,” and off he would go. Say “tree Tony,” and right back to the cut. Very affectionate horse and loved to work.

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