Andy Bryant from Ohio posted this smartphone video on Facebook, and trust me, you’ll love it. I’ll let you watch it first before providing any commentary.

I’ve read comments from people who think this yearling whitetail is chasing the fox to protect a fawn. That’s possible, but I have another theory.

Bryant posted this video on May 18, so it’s certainly possible the whitetail had a newborn fawn nearby. But I’ve seen a doe chase away a predator that walked too close to a bedded fawn, and the doe’s personality was anything but playful. This deer isn’t trying to catch or stomp on the fox. To me, it appears the yearling whitetail thinks the fox is another young deer, and this behavior appears identical to how fawns interact (some people describe it as “play”) with each other. 

Two fawns will often sort out dominance via chasing (i.e. playing), and that’s what I see here. Whatever the case, the video is fun to watch. I can only imagine how long the deer pursued its play partner.