Each fall, as testosterone levels rise in white-tailed bucks they begin working off aggression by working rubs and building up much needed shoulder and neck muscles. It’s not an accident and if you’ve ever noticed the changes that a buck’s body undergoes between late August and late October, it really is amazing. However, as the breeding season — known as the rut by hunters — begins, whitetail bucks that were friendly towards one another during the antler growing period quickly become rivals. It’s all about a battle for space and access to receptive does.
The rut really takes its toll on bucks. Not only do bucks lose a substantial percentage of their body weight over the course of the breeding season, but buck to buck combat can lead to both direct and indirect mortality. Indirect mortality can come from wounds that become infected or even internal damage from fighting. Direct mortality, although more infrequent, can occur when two or three bucks’ antlers become locked together causing one or both animals to die.
This is the case today for one deer. I received these photos of two locked up white-tailed bucks from Minnesota. The guys that stumbled upon the bucks actually found them while one of the bucks was still alive. Instead of shooting the locked up buck, they managed to separate the two and send one lucky deer on his way. Here is the story: Continue reading “When Whitetail Bucks Lock Antlers”