In the last issue, I shared tips on how to find and observe the Florida white-tailed deer. As the summer months have gone by, those cute little fawns have been maturing into yearlings, and hopefully you’ve had the opportunity to discover an area where you can view these large mammals. With the cooler evenings approaching, you may find yourself wanting to journey back outside, and some exciting surprises may await you.
Whether you choose to walk along winding country roads, dense wooded forests or dark, lonely swamps, you will probably hear some serious activity going on about mid-November. For in the autumn season, the dancing play of dappled fawns is replaced by the exciting and often dramatic rutting season.
Rutting season is pretty obvious by all the snorting, stomping and chasing that will be going on around you. Because white-tailed deer mature sexually between their first year or 2, those cute little fawns from last year become the energetic doe chasers of this harvest season.
When scouting for deer, look in the soft soils for the double half-moon shapes of their tracks. Then examine the small saplings found along these trail areas. Male deer, or bucks, routinely rub their antlers on shrubbery to mark their territory. They also use these antlers to spar with other bucks once they have hardened. It is quite interesting how the antlers form from their simple beginnings at the frontal bones. This live tissue, a form of bone, is the fastest-growing tissue in the animal kingdom. Believe it or not, antlers can grow one to 2 inches per week, nurtured by the fine-haired skin commonly called velvet. Underneath this softness are nerves and blood vessels and, at times, antlers can be damaged from impacts. This is why you sometimes see deer with an uneven “rack.” If antlers are injured during the growth phase, it can sometimes grow in strange forms, or perhaps not at all.
You probably won’t ever hear the rattle of antlers from 2 bucks fighting, but you may hear the snorting and blowing of one defending its territory or attempting to generate some interest from a doe. It is always exciting to be hiking around and hear the snorts and blows followed by foot stomping somewhere off in the bushes. The next sound you’ll probably hear are the thuds of hooves as the chase begins.
Bucks will chase does for about 5 or 6 days prior to mating with them. After all this effort, a buck remains with a doe for just a brief while, mating several times and defending her from other suitors. Soon they separate, and he’s off on the chase again.
While viewing deer, you can look for identifying scars or markings, but don’t plan to identify them next spring by their antlers. After the breeding season, these antlers will be shed, and your chances of finding the racks are slim. These shed bones are chewed on by various forms of wildlife -- think of them as a giant vitamin -- so they are difficult to discover.
Written By
Florida State Park Ranger Dorothy L. Harris works at both Highlands Hammock State Park and Lake June in Winter Scrub State Park. At the current time, she is the only employee for Lake June Scrub, but she receives an abundance of assistance from the staff and volunteers at Highlands Hammock State Park. Dorothy also enjoys writing informational articles on the parks for her area's local newspapers, as well as giving tours and programs about the parks for the surrounding communities. The best part of her job is a toss-up between the interesting people she meets and the incredible species she helps preserve. She is particularly fond of the endangered species and their relationship within the scrub ecosystem.
from the fall 2002 issue of EcoFlorida
In the last issue, I shared tips on how to find and observe the Florida white-tailed deer. As the summer months have gone by, those cute little fawns have been maturing into yearlings, and hopefully you’ve had the opportunity to discover an area where you can view these large mammals. With the cooler evenings approaching, you may find yourself wanting to journey back outside, and some exciting surprises may await you.