When a white-tailed deer becomes alert, it often stops abruptly and begins stamping.
It almost seems like an exaggerated gesture. The deer curls its front leg up and into
its body and then slams that hoof to the ground in a forceful manner. The deer will
typically stand in the same spot and repeat this gesture until it identifies what it
initially perceives to be an unknown source of danger. When a deer is super alert,
or if it sees or hears something in addition to the initial danger, the deer will often snort.
This young boy was stamping when he spotted me.