Battling bucks and bulls get a lot of coverage but we don’t hear much about fighting female ungulates. Yet, it doesn’t seem to be uncommon as I’ve seen photos and video clips of elk cows and white-tailed does fighting. In both species, the altercation involves two females rearing up on hind legs and slapping with front feet. Males without antlers may fight this way, as well. The video below shows two female white-tailed does fighting in this manner, about halfway through. But be sure to watch the whole thing to appreciate the body language of challenge.

It may appear in the video that the stone wall is a territorial boundary, but deer generally don’t defend territories. They do, however, maintain social order by enforcing a “peck order”. A dominant (often larger) individual flattens its ears and stares directly at a subordinate animal to enforce the peck order. A subordinate individual who accepts her status looks away to placate her superior and avoid attack. A subordinate who seeks to advance her status, on the other hand, flattens her ears and gives her superior the hard stare. A hoof slapping battle will likely follow.

In the video, we see two groups of deer meet at a stone wall. The doe approaching from the right, with flattened ears, first successfully stares down a doe approaching from the left. But then a larger doe approaching from the left swiftly and effectively gives the smaller, staring doe a piece of her mind…or hooves…thus maintaining the peck order.

Other posts about deer
Doe Feeding and Grooming Her Fawn
White-tailed Deer Scrape Action

Sources
Elbroch, M. and K. Rinehart. Behavior of North American Mammals. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.
Whitetail Body Language