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

Just Flehmen!

While driving home yesterday I noticed this Blacktail Buck with a very unusual set of antlers. The beam instead of being broad came up at a sharp angle. The eyeguards were almost as large as antler tines. The tines themselves were rather small. The main beam after coming up leaned in almost giving his antlers a diamond shape. When I spotted him he was following a doe and he was flehming. Curling his lip back and breathing in the doe's pheromones to see if she was ready to breed. Flehming draws air molecules to a bucks Jacobson Organ(vomeronasal organ).In deer, the Jacobson's organ is located in the roof of the mouth and consists of two fluid-filled sacs that are attached to the nasal cavity. This organ can sense when a doe is in estrus. There is your short science lesson for today with a photo to illustrate it. God bless, chris