The Rut

From our walk today there was this.

At the bottom of the photo (center) is a fresh scrape.

Middle of the photo the horizontal limb from the small oak on the left is a licking branch just above the scrape.

Both of these are typically found together.

If you encounter a whiff of deer pee redolent in the autumn air look carefully beneath any shoulder height tree branches close by.  You may locate a bare patch of dirt in the turf that is trampled with deer hoof prints.  This is called a scrape. 

Bucks create scrapes by using their hoofs to dig at the ground. Once the soil is stirred up, they urinate on the scrape.  Bucks don’t pee the way we do.  We try to keep it off of us.  Bucks actually try to pee on their own hind legs.  The object is to hit their tarsal glands in an effort to leave their scent on the scrape.  Every deer has its own unique bouquet and the tarsal glands hold concentrated amounts of that spoor.  Another thing scrapes have is a licking branch - a tree branch will hang above the cleared out soil. Bucks will rub their forehead glands on the stick and will also lick it with their tongue. 

The earliest of scrapes that begin to appear in October are few and far between and used principally to communicate as bucks begin to leave their bachelor groups and stake-out their territory.  It is akin to posting a no trespassing sign on a property line. 

Scrapes serve much the same function in the whitetail world as a mailbox post or a fire hydrant does for dogs.  Scrapes are meant to show dominance over a territory but are normally used by more than one buck.   

Very soon the scrape will be used to communicate breeding readiness.