The White-Tailed Deer 7 



eluding many tender shoots of small bushes and it is 

 by no means averse to grazing when the marsh grass is 

 abundant. 



In the fall, the deer usually move to higher ground 

 and often spend much time in tracts of burnt-over land 

 where the second growth affords good cover. When 

 beechnuts or acorns are available, they feed extensively 

 on them and become very sleek and fat. At this season, 

 the bucks clear their horns of velvet, their necks grow 

 thickened and, as the rutting or mating season ap- 

 proaches, they become restless and roving. The period 

 of the rut extends from late October to early Decem- 

 ber and is a time of great activity, especially for the 

 bucks, which range far and wide in search of the does. 

 When two bucks meet, a fight is almost a certainty and 

 if they are well matched, the contest may last several 

 hours. They rush together head on and, after locking 

 horns, push each other backward and forward with 

 mouths open and eyes glaring until one or the other 

 acknowledges defeat by leaving the field to his adver- 

 sary. They seldom gore each other seriously and usu- 

 ally suffer only bruising and temporary exhaustion, 

 but occasionally there are fights to the death. Not in- 

 frequently their antlers become inextricably locked 

 and the poor beasts, unable to loose themselves or to 

 take nourishment, struggle to the point of total ex- 

 haustion and death. Evidences of these tragedies are 

 found in the weathered skeletons with the bound 

 antlers attached. Probably they are less frequent than 

 might be supposed from the number of sets of locked 

 antlers which are offered for sale by taxidermists and 

 curio dealers, since it is not difficult for the unscrupu- 

 lous to spring separate antlers into a locked position. 



The antlers of the Whitetail may be distinguished 

 from those of other American deer by several charac- 

 teristics. The two main branches or beams have a 



[7] 



