Another Short Story - From Life in the Wild

In the life of the deer.......

- Early this morning, the buck in the bottom two photos came out of the woods several minutes after the group of does and yearlings (12 deer in this group) had appeared in the edge of a field........

- Periodically his nose went to the ground and he would begin to trail toward the does....and eventually all disappeared into the forest....

- The does and yearlings were moving deliberately at first....checking the ground for left over White Oak acorns, the underbrush for bits of browse, and the young trees for a few buds.....

- This all changed when the male appeared. They began to act nervous and unsettled.....

- While the does and yearlings were hanging out together and searching for food, the buck had other things on his mind......

- Chances are most of these does, other than the yearlings, have already been bred, with the estrus cycle ending at conception.....

- While it is not uncommon for a doe in estrus to breed with more than one buck, this pattern of behavior only lasts so long, and then the chemical stimulation lessens and finally stops....

- Most likely one or more of the does in this group was in her 2nd or even 3rd estrus cycle and the buck had picked up the scent......and a comparatively late fertilization could have taken place in the woods soon after these photos were taken.

- Typically in our area, the first estrus cycle begins in November and varies a bit from year to year. There is much debate as to what exactly stimulates the rut in the male deer, and the estrus cycle in the females. A long discussion for another time. For obvious reasons, the two are intertwined and for the most part simultaneous.

- Does in estrus leave scent...from a gland between the hooves, and it is this stimulant, when placed in the 'scrape' of the buck, that often begins the trailing process of the buck toward the doe, which may be a few hundred feet, or even a mile or more. It is the doe's way of telling the buck that she has entered the breeding stage...and that if he can find her without becoming distracted by another doe in heat, possibilities exist for the continuation of the species.
- Does not bred during the first estrus cycle will come into a 2nd cycle 28 days later....the reason that all fawns are not born at the same time in late spring.

- Gestation in the whitetail deer is around 180 days, with most fawns born from late May through June. Usually twins are the rule, with the sex ratio, by years of statistics, slightly above 1:1, favoring the males. Think nature is aware of statistics and life spans?

- Bucks do not live long. By TWRA statistics, most bucks seen at the checking stations in the autumn are in their second fall, approximately 18 months old. If the buck survives this second fall, he becomes a different creature....more wary and distrusting, seldom hanging out with other deer, until the next rut the following year. A buck of three and a half years and older is uncommon at the checking stations, but it is these older deer that often have the most impressive set of antlers. Locally, a buck of 5 1/2 and older is basically unheard of, comprising less than 1% of statistics. A male deer in the second fall can be an 8-point or a spike...it all depends on genetics and nutrition. In the later years, if the buck is fortunate to live that long, the antler mass/size may decline.

- All things being considered, notwithstanding the size of the antlers, the pattern of a buck's antlers will be similar year after year. For example, if a buck has a non-typical pattern to his antlers (one or more tines growing asymmetrically), this pattern will most likely continue through the life of this deer. Similarly, if an 8-point buck survives his second fall, the following year he may be a larger 8-point, or even a 10-point or more, but the general pattern of the antlers will be similar to the previous year. Annually, bucks usually shed their antlers in late January or February and the re-growth process starts soon afterward, in March.

- Older male deer are extremely cautious......spending most all of their time alone. Only during the rut do they become more vulnerable to forces that can do them harm. Active, mature bucks eat little during the rut and may lose 25%-40% of their body weight during this time. I have seen big bucks in rut in the middle of town, crossing freeways, and in general, acting crazy. Recently a cousin e-mailed a photo of a buck he had killed in a northern Middle Tennessee county. The buck was huge....and after the mandatory drying period, may very well make the Boone and Crockett Record Book. Green, the buck scored 173 1/2 by the B/C method of scoring. This buck was taken on the farm of my cousin, and in checking with other local farmers and people who lived in the area, NO ONE had ever seen this buck prior to his death! Bucks may service multiple does during the rut, and typically the strongest males are the ones to replenish the species.

- Enough for now. Thanks to Frank and Joann Kahoun for supplying these great photos. Enjoy the great outdoors.