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Text and photography by Errol Mason
Introduction
Silhouetted on a barren ridge top at first light the bucks were a grand sight as they battled for dominance. Being 600 metres or so distant the sound of crashing antlers was barely audible to my companion and I, but the power unleashed was readily apparent. As they shoved each other up and down the ridgeline three alpine dingoes, their yellow/ginger coats glowing in the first rays of sun, trotted down the ridge right past them. It seems these canines concluded that two testosterone charged dueling bucks were much more than they could deal with. And who could blame them. It was immediately obvious that this was no sparring match but a serious fight to decide who would occupy the lek on this ridge and pass on their genes to the does attracted to it.
A lek is a zoological term for a breeding ground or mating territory centrally located within the does habitat and bucks fight for the right to occupy the most centrally located lek. From there the occupiers displays can be seen and his groaning heard by the largest number of oestrous does who are attracted to him. Leks are occupied by the dominant fallow buck throughout the rut and subordinate bucks cluster around him. In south-eastern Australia the rut commences around the last week of March and continues until the end of the third week of April. Leks are located on ridge tops, saddles and other high ground central to the does habitat and are used by generations of bucks. During the rut the dominant buck will occupy the lek for much of the time and will not stray far from it, usually being found within 100 hundred metres or so of it at first light.
Sometimes a large eucalypt tree with wide-spreading, low hanging branches is chosen as the centre of the lek and from there the dominant buck displays and groans constantly to the does who respond by congregating around and under this tree. The dominant buck aggressively defends the lek and does attracted to him from all other bucks. If another buck approaches the lek, the dominant rushes out at him, groaning furiously, and then quickly retreats to the tree to protect his does.
As the day progresses and particularly if disturbed or the temperature becomes warm, the does retreat to thick cover to bed as does the master buck who beds in a depression scraped beneath the low hanging branches of another eucalypt located within 70 or so metres of his lek. As the rut in south-eastern Australia occurs during warm to hot weather, a bed in moist soil beneath shady branches provides the buck with a relatively cool place to rest, while does will bed in any patch of blackberry large enough to conceal them and remain there until an hour or two before dark when they emerge to feed.
During the first two weeks of a recent rut I noted that a black fallow buck was occupying a lek located about half way down a face, while an older and larger menil occupied a lek located on a saddle directly above the black fellow. A large old eucalypt with low hanging branches was the centre of the black buck's lek and he was aggressively defending it and groaning constantly. This buck seemed to be able to attract does but was unable to hold them and they continued on and ascended to the lek occupied by the older and dominant menil. It was the same menil I had seen occupying this lek during the rut of the previous year when he was surrounded by fifty or so does in groups of three to six and whose vigilance prevented me from getting close enough to photograph him. This magnificent buck had passed on his genes to many fawns that year so I decided that he was ripe for harvesting, although I knew getting within rifle range wouldn't be easy.
After several failed stalks with other companions, Chris Kinsella joined me in pursuit of this buck. Using 10 x 42 bino's, Chris and I spotted him on the opposite face at first light, and planned a stalk based around the wind direction and his favoured escape routes some of which were now clearly identified. As we commenced to climb the opposite face the wind had swung around and was blowing our scent directly up to the buck and his does. Instantly we knew this would betray us so we hurriedly climbed the gut towards their escape route in the hope that we might cut them off. As we topped out of the head of the gut we caught a fleeting glimpse of some does and what appeared to be a reasonable buck as they safely vanished into the forest. "He's beaten us again" I whispered to Chris, but no sooner had the words left my mouth when another group of does came running in the tracks of the first group, and at the rear was the magnificent big buck we were after. Chris was beside me with rifle ready but they were running hard through light timber about 80 metres above us and across our front and they showed no sign of slowing. Desperate times require desperate measures I thought as I instinctively yelled "Hey" loudly at the buck. Lo and behold he stopped in his tracks and stood tall and proud against the skyline. The length and width of his antlers confirmed he was the monarch. At the crack of Chris's rifle the buck bolted for 70 metres or so before doing a pirouette, rearing and falling over backwards quite dead. When we reached him we were not disappointed. He was indeed a majestic fallow buck and he was no "push-over". Three times previously he had evaded me and he had almost succeeded again. Yes, Diana had definitely shone upon Chris on this morning or perhaps Chris is actually blessed with 'the luck of the Irish'.
While the death of this magnificent, dominant buck meant many things to Chris and I, his demise had a much more significant impact on the herd over which he had reigned during several ruts. A change was clearly apparent when I returned to the area a week later. The black buck who had held the lower ground during the menil's reign, now occupied his vacated lek and he was defending it aggressively, leaving no doubt that a new king had been crowned. He was an impressive adversary as he defended his mating territory and a dozen or so does from the many suitors that surrounded his fortress at every point of the compass.
Several mornings at first light I stalked within 70 metres or so of his lek and being careful not to be seen heard or smelt, I observed and photographed the dominant black buck as he defended his lek and a small number of does from other suitors. He walked around the base of the eucalypt groaning constantly and displayed his antlers by tilting or swaying them from side to side. Several subordinate bucks, who it seems had grown tired of trying to attract females lay or stood at various points forty metres or so from the old eucalypt that formed the central point of the lek. One other change had become obvious. The black buck was not attracting as many does as the larger, older menil had. Staying out of sight, I then imitated the groaning of a rutting buck to which the black buck responded instantly and aggressively by charging out from beneath the old eucalypt for 20 metres or so, groaning furiously during this entire performance, before returning just as quickly to his does.
Signposting
Fallow bucks come into hard antler in late February and from this time leading up to the rut in late March they reoccupy the does habitat, rework old signposts and establish new ones throughout it. Signposts are numerous and comprise earth scrapes, tree rubs and vegetation, each smelling of the unique scent of the particular buck that anointed it. While other species of cervidae such as red, wapiti and sambar, establish wallows which they urinate into while wallowing so that they are coated with mud infused with their urine, fallow bucks do not. Instead, fallow urinate directly over their bodies by twisting their penis outwards and spraying urine over their face, head and antlers. This scent is then transferred to their rump and flanks and vegetation such as the lower leaves and branches of trees. Recent research at the Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK has revealed that the scent of each stag or buck is distinctive and as unique as a human's fingerprint and contains information such as the age, sex and status of the deer that left it.
With the aid of 10 x 42 bino's I have been fortunate to see many examples of signposting by wild free-ranging fallow bucks prior to and during the rut and the following are typical examples. Quality binoculars in the 7 x 42, 8 x 42, 8 x 50, 10 x 42 or 10 x 50 really are one of the most important tools a deer hunter/observer can own.
From 300 metres away I watched a mature menil buck scrape the ground beneath a eucalpyt, pawing the soft earth with alternate front hooves. He then stood as tall as he could and thrashed his head about in the low hanging leaves of the eucalypt, wiping urine that he had earlier sprayed over his head and antlers and scent from his preorbital glands onto the foliage. This old buck was ensuring that his presence was well advertised to other bucks and the many does in the area that were about to cycle into oestrous.
On another occasion I watched a mature buck, who appeared to be the dominant buck on that particular face, spray urine over his face and head for five or so minutes.
From a vantage point 500 metres or so distant I observed a large bodied menil buck thrash the low overhanging branches of an old eucalypt. His head was pushed well into the leaves ensuring they stunk as badly of his urine as he did. The buck then pawed the ground immediately below the branches with alternate front hooves. I have not seen it myself, but other hunters have told of watching fallow bipedal in the same manner as sambar when scent marking trees.
After several minutes of constant scent marking and scraping the buck stood tall below the old eucalypt and looked warily in our direction. Although a long way off, my 10 power bino's enabled us to determine that he was a mature buck with a reasonable rack. He then laid down in a damp bed beneath the overhanging branches of the old eucalypt he had just signposted.
Conclusion
Peering into timbered faces from opposite faces and other vantage points through quality binoculars enables ever so rare observations of signposting and other interesting aspects of rutting behaviour. Fierce fighting and the aggressive and constant groaning of testosterone charged rutting bucks defending leks and strutting about in magnificent mountain scenery at dawn is an enthralling sight. Add to this wildlife pictorial images of bucks pawing scrapes, scent marking eucalypts and fleeting glimpses of marauding alpine dingoes working fallow in the style of a sheepdog. Combined, all this represents one of the most exciting and memorable hunting experiences available in the world today.
References
Putman, Rory. 'Scent Glands: What the smells tell' in Deer , Vol. 11. No. 7. Journal of the British Deer Society.
Reinken, G., 1990. Deer Farming. A practical guide to German techniques . Farming Press Books, UK .
Chapman, D & N., 1975. Fallow Deer , Coch-Y-Bonddu Books, U.K.
Geist, V., 1999, Deer of the World , Stackpole Books, USA .
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