Deer gorging themselves on acorns?

I have a friend that lost a huge 12 pointer last year. The deer showed no signs of an injury so he called a biologist to check out the deer. After an on-site semi-necropsy, they found nothing visibly wrong any organs/tissue etc, and no injuries. When they opened the deer’s stomach to see what it had been eating it was packed full of acorns. He explained that it looked like it was a bag full of ground up acorns. Short of doing a bunch of lab work (that they didn’t care to do), they just speculated that maybe the deer was unable to digest such a mass of acorns. Anyone ever heard of this?

Too much of a good thing

Never heard of it.

absolutely heard of it with cattle but never with wt. we didn't have too bad of an issue in Kentucky, but family in Louisiana lost multiple head every year there was a big acorn crop.

I've been watching them in my yard doing this the last couple of days. None dead though.

I've once spotted a sounder of pigs bedded under some cedar bushes. I parked my truck and got the wind right and stalked in to 25 yards. The first arrow struck a pig. He didn't go far and the others just laid there. I slung another arrow and a piglet was started squeeling. They just kiind of stood up. That's when I noticed their bellys hung low. I got two more as they scurried off. It was just like you said. Full off ground acorns. Hogs are very very wary in my area. They didn't want to move cause they were duped full of acorns.

I shot a buck a few years ago that seemed to be really full. I checked belly contents and he was absolutely packed with acorns...most of them whole.

It's called oak toxicity. It can kill cattle but I have never heard of it affecting deer.

Thanks TexasKC, I did some Googling of oak toxicity in deer. Interesting that deer, cows and goats can gorge themselves to the point of death.

Wild animals are "smarter" than domesticated livestock, but every so often I guess there has to be a "dummy" in the bunch

they have been watching human's

I'm so lucky...all the hogs eat up the acorns before the deer get a chance

How did they find that 12 pt after it died?

It was a regular and hadn't been seen for a few days, so he went looking around. I do know that he found it right away before the buzzard got to it.

when the acorns drop deer will gorge on them. acorns in and of themselves probably did not kill the buck. if gorging on acorns was detrimental to the deer we would not be hunting them. there wouldn't be any. unless it choked and asphixiated i would look for another cause.