Camera Critters: The Bachelor Groups Of Summer

Mature whitetail bucks spend most of the year traveling in bachelor groups of two to several animals but some animals are loners and live a solitary existence..  I have seen as many as nine to a dozen bucks traveling together.  The only exception to this is during the rut, when the animals compete for the attention of females, and usually travel alone.

A Bachelor Group Of Two

 There are exceptions to any rule, but in most cases the bucks that you see traveling and feeding with does in the summer are yearlings.  Large bucks and does may share the same feeding area and may actually intermingle, but if you watch the social groupings closely you will notice that the mature males will ordinarily arrive at and leave the area together.

Closeup Of Buck On Left Performing A Lip Curl

Before antler restrictions were implemented in Pennsylvania, it was extremely difficult to see bachelor groups and the vast majority of the animals were killed when they were yearlings, but now a significant number do live long enough to form these groups, but they may still be difficult to see in hunting country as mature bucks are often much more shy than the does and young bucks.

Portrait Of The Largest Buck

As is often the case, National Parks are the best places for photographers to find animals that are tolerant enough of humans to allow for quality photographic encounters.  Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee,  and Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, are two of the premiere spots for whitetail photography in the Eastern United States.  The above bucks were photographed in Shenandoah National Park.

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Originally Posted At:Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill