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Fresh from his morning food plot, he pauses
for water, listening to the sounds of the forest.
Antlers still forming under their coating of
velvet, soon he will return to his bed where
he will rest out the morning, digesting his
meal, storing energy for the events soon to come.
As the days begin to shorten and the nights grow cooler, he will be unaware of a quickening in his body signalling the approach of his destiny. His antlers will reach their maturity, the soft living velvet will dry and wither, and he will respond to the urge to clean them and to begin marking the boundarys of his portion of the forest. This is the fall this 3 year old will challenge the older bucks for the does of the area and he will need all the energy and strength within him to accomplish this. If he is successful in his challenge, and if he survives possible injury or death, then his genes will be passed on to the young born in the coming spring. Nature will select the strongest, and if he is unsuccessful, he will spend the spring and following summer with other bucks. He will become stronger, wiser and more experienced. Approaching the early part of his prime, he likely will become the dominant male in his territory. Nature will again determine how long he retains this position, for such is the fate of a whitetail buck. |
