Don't Mess with the Deer When They Are Feeling Protective

MATT SAYS:

This is my first fawn sighting of the season.  The picture was captured, such as it is, with my iPhone.  You can see the tiny fawn, standing behind its mother, on the left, and a large deer, which I surmise is a stag, on the right.  As I snapped the picture the stag started walking right at me, slowly, but keeping his gaze on me the entire time.  I pocketed my iPhone and backed off -- I was at least 50 yards away when I was taking the picture -- and he lost interest.  I have never had a deer behave that directly and aggressively with me before.  I can only guess the stag interpreted me as a threat to the fawn and decided to confront me.

Stag At The End Of Winter

Photographed this morning.

This is the first stag I've seen in some time.  One of his antler's is chipped, he has scars, and he was moving kind of stiffly.  I guess it's been a tough season for him.

Is This A Buck That Shed Its Antlers?

Photographed yesterday afternoon.

I've included this photo because I think this may be a buck after shedding his antlers.  I'm guessing this from the marks on its head.

I have read that bucks grow and then shed antlers annually, shedding the antlers after mating season.  I also read that some bucks (the more successful ones at mating) retain their antlers a bit longer than the others. So, if this is a buck, it would be one that was not too successful at mating because there is still at least one stag in the neighborhood that still has its antlers, spotted last night. 

My source for this is Lone Star Menagerie:  Adventures with Texas Wildlife, by Jim Harris, published in 2000 by Republic of Texas Press.  This book is fascinating, with funny anecdotes and charming detail, full of information about the lives and habits of local animals.

The wikipedia article on antlers is interesting. It describes antlers as "one of the most exaggerated cases of male secondary sexual traits in the animal kingdom": I love it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antler

Stag In Suburbia

Happy New Year

Photographed by Matt Spitzer, last Wednesday.

Bucks Will Be Bucks

 Around 8 a.m. this morning.

The view from my window.

The young guys were just practicing, like adolescent boys with sticks for swords.


They went on so long that I had to leave before I found out how they ended this play battle.

Stag, Through My Window

He doesn't have a bad angle.  (And he seems to know it.) 

Here, he has a Mona Lisa look.  (Maybe she was chewing grass, too.)

This stag is my candidate for stag of the season.

Stag In Black And White

This morning's stag sighting.

I've now identified three different stags in our immediate neighborhood. There are probably more.

So far, the stag featured in the post below is my candidate for stag of the season.

Stag In Grass

This afternoon's stag photo.

He minds having his picture taken much less than many human subjects.

Update:

I saw my first deer fatality today.

Body on the sidewalk, being torn at by a buzzard.

I don't know which deer it was.  Just glimpsed it as I drove.