The other night I was driving home at dusk. The headlights illuminated (lit-up if you are from East Texas) several deer feeding in a yard. There were the usual groups of does, young fawns and a goofy looking young spike. There were also 2 other deer.... 2 really big deer..... 2 large, good looking bucks with heads full of antlers and shoulders like linebackers.
One buck, the slightly thinner, leaner one (I'd guess to be 2.5 - 3.5 years old) was in unstoppable pursuit of a hot doe. He simply would not leave her alone. She was obviously at or near her "breeding window" and the buck was relentless. (Yes, by the way, I stop, block traffic and watch these sorts of things when I can.) He'd chase her across the street, back to the other deer, into another yard and then back across another street. What was interesting is the obviously older, heavier, more mature buck was completely and totally uninterested in this doe.
What was so appealing that he would forgo the possibility of sex/breeding???
Acorns. Lots and lots of acorns.
It then hit me how much animals and humans are alike. Similar to dog-years, I think deer age the equivalent of 10 years per human year (i.e. deer years... not to be confused with deer miles from Lesson #8). The 2.5 year old buck (human equivalent of a 25 year old testosterone driven male) was interested in one thing and it was not food. The old-man buck, the equivalent of a 70 year old man with a bad back, was having no part of it and looked ready for a nap.
It seems the libido slowly but steadily transitions into the li-cheeto in deer, just like with us humans.
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A Man in the Woods
