Scouting the Rut

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 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.  As the breeding season - the rut - commences these scrapes are used principally to communicate as bucks begin to leave their bachelor groups and stake out their breeding territory.  It is akin to posting a no trespassing sign on a property line.  Eventually it will be used to communicate breeding readiness.   

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 branch and will also lick it with their tongue.

Even though these scrapes serve much the same function in the whitetail world as a mailbox post or a fire hydrant does for dogs it would not be unusual for them to be visited by more than one buck.

From last Saturday is this photo of an active scrape.  Coincidentally, it also happens to be located within range of a trail camera set on video mode.

More than one buck has been passing thru here to pay a call and leave a message.  

Here is a short, silent, IR mode video vignette captured recently.  It is an excellent illustration of the role of the licking branch.