In the Rut

This morning on my drive down the mountain into town I noticed a buck off to the side of the road with several does. I was about to drive on by when I noticed he was phlegming towards one of the does. Phlegming is the way that bucks determine if a doe is in estrus and ready to breed. They do this by sticking out their neck and head, curling their lip back and then opening their mouth wide and sucking in air. They suck the air in over their Jacob's Organ to see if there are any females are in season. This particular buck was swinging his head around from doe to doe. Just after I took this image he bolted after one of the does and took off in pursuit of her. She ran across the road and down a hill with him in pursuit. Love er lust is in the air. God bless, chris