Rut

I took these photos a coupe of weeks ago during the mid-December antlerless hunt.  One of the only deer I spies appeared to be a fork (possibly a six) but for sure it was a buck.  It was there a gone in a flash and disappeared from my field of view.

In any event, when I dismounted my stand to begin a slow and deliberate walk back to the house in the gathering dusk I encountered a couple of interesting phenomenon.

First, was that this buck not only chose to walk precisely in the trail I had busted in the snow hiking to and from the arm pit stand.....

click on images for a closer look

He had seemingly deliberately chose to step mostly in my footsteps.  Not outside or parallel to my trail. But in and on my trail.  Go figure.  You have to wonder what's up with that, eh?

Second, there was this.  Something that was most definitely not there on my walk out - but was there on my walk home.

A scrape.

That buck I observed was freshening his scrape directly below the licking branch of a swamp oak.  The only time he stepped-off my track!

How else would those girl deer get impregnated in January?



Don't let anyone tell you that rutting behavior doesn't extend late into the calendar year and sometimes into January.