On the trail of big bucks: Nature’s rut and rewards

I was walking through the woods, moving very slowly, making sure not to step on a stick or twig that might snap and make a loud noise. Each footstep was carefully placed after visually checking the ground. Thankfully, it had rained a little the day before, making the leaves nice and wet, which dampened the sounds of my footsteps. I was traveling in near silence.

Almost all the leaves had already fallen from the trees, making it easy to see long distances within the woodland. In my hands, I carried a large 500mm lens and a camera body. I was on the hunt for white-tailed deer.

This year, the rut seemed to start right on time, and I was eager to get out and see what I could find, perhaps capturing some images of an elusive big buck. Moving through the woodland, I came across several female deer, but this wasn’t why I was there. I was searching for the big-antlered male deer, often referred to as bucks.

Moving along, I must have covered 2 miles before I found my first small buck. Based on my years of experience, I know that small bucks often follow the larger ones. The big bucks follow their noses through the woods, searching for does ready to breed. The big bucks are constantly on the move until they find a “hot” female nearing her peak of reproduction. The buck will follow her around, waiting for her to accept him. He will often feed when she is feeding or lie down and rest when she is lying down and resting.

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White-tailed deer are mostly found in the eastern half of the country, but they range as far southwest as Arizona and up into the Pacific Northwest, reaching the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Depending on who you talk to, there are many varieties or subspecies of white-tailed deer. Subspecies are usually determined by general morphological differences within a species.

For example, a subspecies can be identified by the size or shape of the body, tail, or ears. A good example is the Key deer, a subspecies of the white-tailed deer that lives only on Florida’s Key islands. This subspecies looks similar to other white-tailed deer, except it is one-quarter the size of a typical white-tailed deer. An adult male Key deer weighs only 50 pounds. This is a clear and obvious difference, but not all subspecies are so distinct.

White-tailed deer follow Bergmann’s Rule, a biological principle that states individuals within a species tend to be larger in northern latitudes to retain heat and smaller in southern latitudes to shed heat and stay cool. White-tailed deer in northern states and Canada are much larger than those in southern states. The Key deer is a perfect example of this biological rule.

After several miles of hiking, I located a large buck. At first, I saw the flash of his bright white antlers in the thick brush. If his antlers hadn’t been so bright, I might have missed him. As I approached, I caught a whiff of this rutting buck – a sweet, pungent smell that is unmistakable.

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When bucks are looking for females, scent glands on their hind legs produce a sweet yet pungent odor. If you get close enough and the wind is in your direction, it’s easy to pick up the scent. As soon as I caught the scent of the buck, I saw him standing in a tangle of branches and vines. His thick winter coat and tall, multi-branched antlers helped him blend in so well that it was hard to see him.

I waited for a while to give this buck a chance to move out of the tangled vegetation and into a spot where I could capture a few images. Over the next 30 minutes, I saw the female he was attending and watched her move from one thicket of vegetation to another. She was clearly keeping to the heavy cover of the forest to avoid the large buck. Behind me, I heard the rustling of leaves. I turned my head and saw another large buck approaching. No doubt, having another buck around would make things interesting.

The big buck saw the smaller buck approaching and immediately headed straight for him. As he got close, the big buck lowered his head and charged at the smaller buck. The smaller one quickly turned and ran. The chase lasted less than 75 feet, but it was enough to send the message. I wasn’t able to capture any of the chase, but I did get some decent images of the big buck. I was thrilled. I turned and started the long hike back to my truck. Until next time…

Editor’s note: Stan Tekiela’s NatureSmart column appears twice a month in the Eden Prairie Local News. Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively across the United States to study and capture wildlife images.

You can follow his work on Instagram and Facebook. He can be contacted via his website at www.naturesmart.com.