With the touch of gold and silver lingering on my fingertips and my mind filled with dazzling dreams of Spanish treasure from long ago shipwrecks, my wife Cindi brought me back to real world, "Norman, it's time to go." Reluctantly, I withdrew my hand from the plexiglass box that contained a solid gold ingot from the Spanish shipwreck Nuestra Senora de Atocha.

We were taking an early lunch break and getting in a little sightseeing in the Keys. Mel Fisher's Treasure Museum on Key West is a "must see" experience all by itself. It is truly a modern day treasure hunt story of hard men against the sea with gold, jewels and treasure as their life's goal. However, now it was time for us to get back to our passion - nature photography. We were in the Keys this weekend to photograph some of the rarest deer in the world: the Florida Key Deer.

Earlier that morning as we drove through Big Pine Key, we had spotted a few Key Deer from a distance. As we pulled up to the light at an intersection a six-point buck jumped out onto the highway right in front of us. Cindi looked at me with expressed amazement that he made it across and off into the scrub brush without causing an accident!

The Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce opened at 9:00 a.m. and a very nice, elderly lady was extremely helpful. She gave us a map of Big Pine Key and No Name Key and drew a route showing us places where Key Deer are frequently seen. "Early morning and evenings are best," she added.

As it was still early, we drove about a mile down one of the side roads on Big Pine Key. "There!" Cindi shouted and pointed her finger. She had spotted a young buck and a doe just off the roadway. I pulled the van onto the shoulder. With cameras in hand Cindi went into the scrub to my right, and I was behind her yet angling to the left. I had not gone 30 yards into the brush and there they were, just watching me. I slowed to a crawl, and my heart pounded like the young hunter I used to be. I felt that every step was a terribly clumsy effort at creeping through the scrub. It was obvious that this old man had lost the stealth of his youth. To my amazement however, the deer just stood and watched my noisy approach as I stumbled my way forward, shooting photo after photo. I was completely out of breath and way out of shape.

Gradually I realized the Key Deer were not alarmed by my approach. They were alert and aware of my movements, but still appeared as if they were trying to ignore me as long as I kept my distance. After 15 or 20 minutes, I broke off the encounter and went back toward Cindi and the van.

"Yea, I got 'em!" I said as I spotted Cindi coming through the brush. "They must have circled around because I missed them," she grumbled. I added that I got a few shots, but doubted they would turn out since the deer were in the shade and I had left my flash in the van.

It was at this point that we decided to take a break and drive down to Key West. It was our first trip to the Keys and Mel Fisher's treasures were at the top of my sightseeing list. We had a great brunch at one of the local places and then we went on to Mel Fisher's. It was there that Cindi reminded me of the time. She was right. I reluctantly let go of the gold bar. We still had several hours of good light left to photograph the Key Deer.

We followed the directions given us that morning to another area on Big Pine Key. Cindi noticed an elderly gentleman gardening in his fenced yard and a small doe grazing on foliage from his hibiscus trees. Naturally we stopped to talk. He told us a lot about the Key Deer from a resident's perspective. Then he motioned with his hand at his waist that "everything from here down belongs to the deer; everything from here up is mine." To demonstrate, he said, "Watch this," and picked a blossom from the hibiscus and offered it to the deer who promptly took it and dropped it to the ground. After a few sniffs, the deer lost interest and went back to nibbling on the green foliage. The gentleman told us that Key Deer were both loved and hated by the local residents. To some, they are nothing more than a nuisance, yet to others they are a little piece of heaven during their retirement years.

We drove on to No Name Key and within a few miles spotted about 15 Key Deer grazing in the fields along the main road. I pulled off the road about 100 yards in front of them. We got out of the van and slowly walked up on the small herd. The area was an open field and there was little or no cover between the deer and us. After 20 minutes or so, I was able to work my way to within a few yards of the deer. There was a buck, maybe a six-pointer, which appeared to lead the herd. It seemed he chose to place himself between the herd and us. He watched us out of the corner of his eye, yet continued to graze as we walked with them at a comfortable distance. The herd continued to be unconcerned, but still aware of our close approach.

Speaking generally, the deer seemed rather curious of our walking through the fields with them. As long as we maintained that comfort zone of 10-15 yards, they were very tolerant of us. A doe allowed me to walk with her and her yearling for perhaps a half a mile. The youngster always kept an eye on me, but continued to graze as long as I didn't intrude into his space. I noticed that a few deer had colorful neck band tags. There were large numbers on these bands that would be easily visible from quite a distance.

The amber lighting that November afternoon was perfect for our photography. We wanted to shoot the deer just before sunset to catch the golden light that spreads out over the landscape and brings out colors and contrasts - which are often sought, yet seldom appreciated except in photographs. The sun was slowly sinking into the western sky when a buck turned to face me with several sprigs of grass still in his mouth. A doe walked up and started to pull the grass from his mouth. My first impression was, "Is this a kiss?" I squeezed the shutter button and ripped off several frames in an instant. What a moment! I got many beautiful photos from this one encounter. As for the "kiss," well, this may have been just one of those moments frozen in time with my camera, but it was extraordinary even if she was just feeding!

These beautiful little deer have almost totally lost their fear of humans, primarily because man is taking over the habitat the deer need to survive. They are protected and are on the threatened and endangered species lists. They live alongside and in very close quarters with the residents. There is no hunting allowed and the deer have gotten so used to people it seems to some that they are begging for attention or affection. The National Key Deer Wildlife Refuge does not encourage or promote encounters between humans and Key Deer, however it is inevitable considering the small area in which both are living.

There are only about 300 Key Deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) left. They are considered to be a subspecies of the Virginia white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and are not found anywhere else in the world, not even on the Florida mainland. Cindi and I had never walked with the Key Deer before, but now we consider these "toy" deer to be very special. They will forever be deep in our hearts. They are unique and until you see them, or when you see them, it is only then that will you understand how lucky we were that weekend.

For more information on the Florida Keys, click: http://www.fla-keys.com

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