5 November 2024

Last Sunday in Frick Park we were privileged to see an 8-point buck hanging out with a doe. They were obviously a couple and merely gazed at us before returning to their interest in each other. The only thing that really got their attention was an off-lease dog on a trail to the right. Fortunately for the dog, he and his owner went the other way.

The paired stayed close together and the buck licked the doe’s face, ears and estrous. Bright light and shadows make it difficult to see them in this photo so I have brightened the remaining pictures.

Over-bright photos allow you to pick out the deer.

What we witnessed was the “tending bond” when a buck shadows a doe for 24 to 48 hours, mating with her multiple times and making sure another buck doesn’t interrupt. (We did not stay for their finale.)

Most people never see this because white-tailed deer hide in dense forest during this period but Frick Park has a serious browse line so there is nowhere to hide.

During the 20th century a myth about deer mating practices governed deer management in Pennsylvania. Namely that it was OK to have 1 white-tailed buck for every 7 does because one buck could “service” all of them in the few weeks that all the does were in heat. Surely the males could get it done.

But they couldn’t. By the end of the 20th century PA hunters were routinely harvesting 90% of the bucks before they were two years old because the sex ratio was so skewed that there was not enough time for pairing up.

In 2002 the PA Game Commission changed deer management practices with antler restrictions to protect the young males and increased doe harvest to balance the sex ratio. The combination has given Pennsylvania’s deer the time they need to form a temporary pair bond.

p.s. Watch out for deer crossing the road! Chances are way too high that are you’ll hit a deer in PA during the rut in October/November.