![\"CPVPBuck1](\"http:\/\/woodyoutdoors.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/CPVPBuck1-copy.jpg\")
<\/a>Then we all saw the reason for this feisty deer\u2019s attitude. A doe came running out of a high grass meadow just in front him, tongue hanging out, and looking exhausted. He had been chasing her around, non-stop, for almost 20 minutes. It was time! The rut was on, nature was calling, and the eager, male white tail had only one thing on his mind-to mate with as many does in this small woodlot as he could. To the casual observer, it may have looked a bit odd as we stood there like statues, holding our cameras, and watching these deer getting ready to engage in, well, what deer engage in at this time of year. We felt like we were watching nature at its finest, but my Office Manager said it looked like a small group of \u201cunusual\u201d people gawking at X-rated deer flicks. I had no intention (or desire) of capturing a photo of a buck and a doe doing the \u201cwild thing!\u201d I was only there to try and get a few photographs of a nice buck, honest!<\/p>\n It seems like early to mid-November in SE Pennsylvania is the peak of the rut for White-tail deer. The \u201crut,\u201d as it\u2019s generally known, is the mating season for deer. Hunters recognize this period as the time that males become increasingly active in marking their territory with scrapes (on the ground) and rubs (rubbing the trunks of small trees), driving off smaller buck, and, of course, finding many girlfriends to mate. During this period, the urge to mate is so strong that bucks will become oblivious to almost everything around them, including cars, hunters, and other critters. Last year, I watched a young 6-point passionately chase a doe around a Berks County pasture, weaving between Holstein cows that were grazing nearby, and paying no attention to the two energetic deer.<\/p>\n \u00a0 The pursuit of does by bucks reminds me of my junior high dances. Many young, overactive boys, roaming around the faintly-lit, sawdust-covered gym floor, (waiting for a slow song to be played) and hoping one of the \u201cdoes\u201d would give them a look or a smile. But in most cases, the girls would simply ignore the boys\u2019 approaches, turn and walk away with their small \u201cherd,\u201d leaving the junior high \u201cbucks\u201d to retreat to the bleachers to sound out their immature grunt calls and occasionally scrap with each other over who was more dominant!<\/p>\n Ahhh! You can\u2019t beat the rut!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The excited buck rushed out of the dense thicket like an out-of-control train roaring down the tracks. His head was down and didn\u2019t even take notice to a few us standing only 50 feet away. My buddy quietly tapped me on the arm and whispered, \u201cGrunt at him once.\u201d \u201cWhat?\u201d I asked him with a … Continue reading Junior High Rut<\/span> <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n