--- title: Photo of Deer Standing on Two Legs Goes Viral description: A photo of a deer standing on only its hind legs caught many people's attention when it was shared on Twitter. canonical: https://time.com/5794473/deer-two-legs/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-03-03T16:40:40.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:20.741Z og:title: Why Is This Deer Standing on Two Legs? The People Would Like to Know og:description: And they have some pretty funny suggestions og:url: https://time.com/5794473/deer-two-legs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt192efb42ff16d1e6/698a0afde76ad2ac7c637541/Deer-Standing-on-Two-Legs.jpg?branch=production&width=509&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 509 og:image:height: 286 og:image:alt: Deer-Standing-on-Two-Legs og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Is This Deer Standing on Two Legs? The People Would Like to Know twitter:description: And they have some pretty funny suggestions twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt192efb42ff16d1e6/698a0afde76ad2ac7c637541/Deer-Standing-on-Two-Legs.jpg?branch=production&width=509&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Is This Deer Standing on Two Legs? The People Would Like to Know > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Mar 3, 2020 4:40 PM UTC  Side view of deer on landscape Side view of deer on landscape Kerri-Marie Davidson/EyeEm—Getty Images  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Mar 3, 2020 4:40 PM UTC When you picture a [deer](https://time.com/5725042/mouse-deer-explained/) in the wild, it’s likely that you picture it standing on all four legs. Which is probably why a photo of a deer standing on only its hind legs caught many people’s attention when it was shared on Twitter on Monday. Posted by Twitter user [Solene Marion](https://twitter.com/solenemarion3), a PhD student studying the interaction between red deer and hill walkers in the Scottish uplands, the image shows a buck with [still-forming antlers](https://time.com/5766416/deer-shedding-antlers-video/) standing up on two legs while his herd grazes in the background. “How do \[you\] think I should classify this red deer behavior?” Marion wrote, noting that the photo was captured by a camera trap. “Only 15,000 photos left to analyze.” > [](https://twitter.com/solenemarion3/status/1234503833306439681) Fellow Twitter users quickly began to chime in with comical responses that ranged from jokes like, “Just seeing what the neighbors are up to,” to riffs on animal-centric cartoons from Gary Larson’s [_The_ ](https://www.thefarside.com)[_Far Side_](https://www.thefarside.com)comic strip. > [](https://twitter.com/goat%5Ftracks/status/1234512564610048002) > [](https://twitter.com/TweetsbySimone/status/1234576016200392704) > [](https://twitter.com/matthewcobb/status/1234573305044258817) But, according to Marion, the correct answer was actually fighting with another deer. > [](https://twitter.com/solenemarion3/status/1234569155082366981) We prefer the _Far Side_ version. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5794473/deer-two-legs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5794473/deer-two-legs/"},"headline":"Why Is This Deer Standing on Two Legs? 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