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Deer Project 2006
. Traveling the wilds of the Blue Hills, Mare-E and I often run into deer as they make their around the woods. Along with the visual sightings is the evidence they leave behind such as droppings, scrapes and rubs. Scrapes are areas the deer clear in the forest floor. They will dig up the ground and "mark" it with urine. This announces to the other deer in the area that "I am Here." Many different deer will mark the same scrape including does. Rubs are the marks left by the buck on the trunks of trees and bushes by the antlers. Bucks may rub a number of trees along their daily route making a "rub line" which deer hunters use to find good hunting territory.
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Here are moose antlers. Each winter the "Bull" or male deer will shed his antlers only to grow a new set in the spring. The locals collect them and sell them for $10.00 per pound.
The Blue hills are loaded with deer so we bought a remote "Deer Cam" and set it out. We have plenty of results to see . (Elmer's Animal Page)
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Mare-E and I are trying to capture on film the antler growth of deer to show the rapid development of the tissues that make up the antler. These deer are in the Blue Hills and are not hunted so they are somewhat less skittish than other deer. Below is an early spring garter snake we found near our camera. In the middle is our salt lick to attract the deer to the camera.
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May 20, 2006 Deer Projects scores it's first good picture of target buck!
Antlers are just buds coming out. June 21 This one is improving!
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This could be the deer in the photos above.
Also caught on the same chip were...
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A fox and a doe or two does and a coyote.
Obviously game animals travel this trail on a routine basis. Watch for our moose page to come in 2007.
All photos by remote cameras are property of:
Elmer Mudguaard
Writer and Editor