More Whitetail Rut Photos-The Lip-Curl

It is quite common to see whitetail bucks lip-curling throughout the autumn months.  This behavior is associated with breeding activity and is most often seen during the peak of the rut.  It is commonly believed that the lip-curl is utilized to determine if a doe is in estrus. 

8 Point Buck Determines If Doe Is In Estrus

At one time I would have thought that the buck in the photo above was either an extra-large  1 1/2 yr. old buck or a small 2 1/2 yr old, but based on my extensive experience with Pennsylvania whitetails, I would not be surprised if this buck is 3 1/2  or more years old, although 2 1/2  years is more likely.

In the next photo a buck with a deformed left antler is captured doing the lip-curl also.  This buck is likely in the same age range.  The most likely cause of the deformed antler is that the antler was injured while in velvet, or that the pedicle was broken loose from the skull in a fight during the previous autumn.  This is one of the most vocal bucks I have encountered.  He frequently makes large resounding bleats while pursuing does.  Even with my severely damaged hearing, it is possible to hear him plainly at well over 100 yards away.

Buck With Damaged Antler

Lip-curling is not confined to bucks with antlers.  Even the 6 month old button bucks get in on the action too.

Young Bucks Lip-Curl Too!

The rut is quickly winding down, and the beginning of the Pennsylvania rifle deer season on Monday will bring much of the activity to a halt, but even if there were no season in the offing, activity would decline very quickly in the next few weeks.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

PA Whitetail Rut Peaks As Rifle Season Slated To Begin Next Monday

If one is seriously interested in the whitetail deer, there is something distinctly unique about this week here in Pennsylvania   For  hunters there is the anticipation of the coming season, which is coupled with preparations for the hunt such as sighting-in rifles and scouting.

Interest In Whitetail Bucks Is High In Late November

For the serious whitetail photographer and student of whitetail behavior this is a time of mixed feelings as rutting activity is often exceptional--especially during the early part of Thanksgiving week, but the downside is that it is all about to end with the onset of rifle deer season next week.  In fact activity patterns will change somewhat earlier with the great increase in human activity in deer country as hunting camps fill up over the week end, and hunters pursue small game and scout for deer.  All of this activity serves to put somewhat of a damper on the proceedings and I can never recall seeing intense rutting activity on the Saturday or Sunday before season.

As most of the does are bred by now, it is common to find several bucks pursuing one hot doe.  The inexperienced who is scouting for a spot to hunt whitetails, often sees such a situation such as this and makes the mistaken assumption that this is where the bucks are usually found, and so decides to spend the first day of season in this spot.  Of course it may be a good spot and they may harvest a buck, but it is very likely that most of the bucks will be somewhere else.  They were only there that day because a hot doe was there.

Buck In Hot Pursuit Of Doe

At this time my thoughts always wander back to my years as a Deputy Wildlife Conservation Officer for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.  In my younger days we worked what we referred to as "the marathon".  This mostly involved working night patrol and looking for jack-lighters as locating deer by artificial light at night and shooting them illegally was one of the more serious and most common offenses in our area.  The marathon often began on the Friday night before Thanksgiving week and continued until the Sunday night before season.  This usually involved going to work shortly after dark and staying out until the early morning hours.

Bucks Attract Much Attention, Both Legal And Illegal

Sometimes one was still working long after dawn the next morning, if they encountered a serious offense that took hours to investigate and bring to closure. But it was more likely that one was in bed by 3:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m., and then it was back out at dawn for some small game hunting, or as my priorities changed--wildlife photography.  Mid-day was spent sleeping and then the process was repeated all over again on the following night.  As we grew older this schedule was curtailed somewhat, but even in our last year of working, it was a grueling time. At one time there was little likelihood that one would make it through this period without encountering a serious offense and often there were several to deal with.

Today, the law enforcement is a thing of the past, but I am still out there most days, documenting the whitetail behavior and keeping a close eye on the welfare of the local whitetail herd.  It is always a special thrill to catch a whitetail in the perfect pose--even though the subject may not be a large buck.

Whitetail Buck Performs Lip-curl

I probably spend more time afield in one week than most do in a year, but I have not hunted deer or any other species since about 1998 preferring to photograph and study the wildlife instead.  If you choose to hunt this year, I do hope that you will hunt in a legal and ethical manner. Be sure to read the Pennsylvania Hunting and Trapping Digest , which comes with your hunting license and has a listing of hunting seasons and a summary of the game laws. Be aware that in some areas the  first five days of season are for antlered deer only, while in other areas it is still a concurrent buck and doe season.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.

Whitetail Rut Peaks In PA and SNP

In our area of Pennsylvania, the whitetail rut traditionally peaks around November 12th, and this year is no exception.  This time frame also seems to apply to the whitetails in Shenandoah National Park as well.  Once the Pennsylvania elk rut and elk season is over, I devote most of my time to observing and documenting the local whitetail herd, as well as making frequent trips to SNP.

Shenandoah 9 Point

 Many ask why one goes to SNP when they are a lot of deer in Pennsylvania--at least in spots (a subject of never ending and often bitter controversy).  The long and short of it is that there are few if any areas in Pennsylvania, that are  accessible to the public, where  one can view and photograph whitetails in a setting where the deer are not concerned about human presence, or where the bucks live to reach full maturity. At one time Gettysburg Battlefield was one such spot and I have heard that Valley Forge has or had a similar situation, but a dramatic herd reduction production program was applied to the Gettysburg deer and there was talk of implementing one at Valley Forge as well--not sure if this has happened yet or not.

Bucks appear with increasing frequency as October drifts into early November.  I have noticed that in Pennsylvania, many are animals that have spent the summer elsewhere, and they appear to check on the local doe herd once the rut begins.  A few remain for the duration of the rut, but most only appear for a day or so and then move on.

Whitetail Buck Checks Herd For Doe In Estrus

Mature Doe: The Object Of The Buck's Attention

In SNP there are several bucks that stay near the meadow at Big Meadows, most if not all of the year.  One may photograph these animals from the time the antlers start to grow in the spring, through the summer months, and on throughout the rut, although at times some abruptly vanish when they stray on nearby private land where hunting is permitted, or are killed by poachers who sometimes boldly enter the park to kill wildlife.

Mature Shenandoah Buck Chasing Doe

The SNP bucks posted today are ones that seem to spend most of their life around the Big Meadows complex.  The one above is a wide eight-point, which has been photographed by most who travel to SNP. This fall was one of the best in recent memory at the park, but I happened to be in the wrong place in the wrong time to capture a few of the biggest bucks.  Also I concentrated on video as usual and so much of my best material is captured on that.

The Canon 100-400mm L IS lens is now my favorite DSLR video lens for wildlife at mid to moderately long ranges when light conditions permit its' use, and the 70-200mm F 2.8 is the lens of choice in early morning and late evening.  For stills the 300mm F2.8 is now my favorite, with the 70-200mm F 2.8 being a close second.  I can nail spot-on focus much better with either of these lenses than with the 500mm F4.  The 100-400mm focuses extremely well, but I like the larger apertures of the other lenses and the resulting better control of depth of field and ability to shoot in lower light.  The 500mm F4 is going back to Canon after the fall photography is over to have the focusing system checked out.  I hope this solves the problem, but I am not overly optimistic.

Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard HIll.

Pennsylvania Elk Season 2011-Part 3 Results, End Of 1st Week

Elk Near Gilbert Viewing Area, Winslow Hill Hunt Zone 2  First Morning Of Season

By the end of the first week of Pennsylvania elk season on November 5th, 2011, 19 bull elk had been killed along with 34 antlerless--this from an allocation of 18 antlered tags and  38 antlerless, leaving only 4 antlerless tags to be filled during the extended elk season, which began on Monday and ends at close of shooting hours on Saturday November 12th.  This season is open only to persons with unfilled tags and in the area of the state which is outside of the official Elk Management Area.  It is designed to direct pressure at the elk that have spread into areas where the PGC does not want the animals.

You might ask, how can there be 19 bulls legally killed when there is only an 18 bull tag allocation.  The extra bull is the Governors Conservation Tag, which is auctioned off each year to the highest bidder.    We plan to discuss this in more detail in the near future (there are some details in PGC news release below).

The results of the hunt tends to reinforce the position that most Pennsylvania elk are  not "as wild as any", as many try to claim. Historically, the success rate on bulls has been very high--usually in the 90%--100% range and this year was no exception.  This is not to deny that there may be a lot of hard work involved in the logistics of a hunt, both during  preparation, and dealing with the harvested animal,  but in many cases there is no difficult "hunting story"  to tell, although there may be some hunts that are challenging, especially in the more remote areas.

Bull Elk No Hunt Zone Gilbert Viewing Area -A Survivor Of Monday's Harvest In The Saddle

Below is the official PGC news release, which may be found by visiting the PGC website. To view the official document:  Click Here.

November 08, 2011
Release #126-11 (Source The Pennsylvania Game Commission)

HUNTERS HARVEST 53 ELK IN 2011
HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today announced that 53 of the 57 licensed elk hunters were successful during the 2011 elk seasons. Of that total, 19 were antlered elk and 34 were antlerless elk.

"Elk are one of North America’s premier big game animals," Roe said. "Pennsylvania is privileged to offer this unique hunting opportunity, a product of successful wildlife management that supports Pennsylvania’s rich hunting heritage. It’s an unparalleled experience for hunters, without all the travel and expense of a one- or two-week guided elk hunt out West."

The heaviest antlered elk was taken by William G. Zee, of Doylestown, Bucks County. He took a 930-pound (estimated live weight), 9x8 on Nov. 1, in Goshen Township, Clearfield County. It’s unofficial Boone & Crockett green score was 426 and five-eighths inches. If this score holds up after the required 60-day drying time, it would be ranked second on Pennsylvania’s Big Game Records for non-typical elk.

Other high-scoring antlered elk (all estimated live weights) were: Jesse M. Heiple, of Somerset, Somerset County, took a 772-pound, 8x7 on Nov. 1, in Jay Township, Elk County, which green-scored at 399 and three-eighths inches; Ken Kastely, of Carroll, Ohio, took a 780-pound, 9x9 on Nov. 1, in Covington Township, Clearfield County, which green-scored at 386 and five-eighths inches; and Calvin E. Wallace, of Kylertown, Clearfield County, took a 711-pound, 6x7 on Oct. 31, in Jay Township, Elk County.

The heaviest antlerless elk was taken by Garry L. Foreman, of Hershey, Dauphin County, who harvested a 601-pound (estimated live weight) antlerless elk on Nov. 5, in Jay Township, Elk County.

Those hunters rounding out the top five heaviest (all estimated live weights) antlerless elk harvested were: Daniel W. Saulter, of Coudersport, Potter County, who took a 594-pound antlerless elk on Nov. 3, in Jay Township, Elk County; Gregory Collins, of Clearfield, Clearfield County, who took a 579-pound antlerless elk on Nov. 2, in Goshen Township, Clearfield County; David Grata, of Johnstown, Cambria County, who took a 546-pound antlerless elk on Nov. 1, in Goshen Township, Clearfield County; and Joshua Brubaker, of Edinboro, Erie County, who took a 517-pound antlerless elk on Oct. 31, in Benezette Township, Elk County.

Agency biologists extracted samples needed for chronic wasting disease testing. Results are expected in early 2012.

Roe also noted that Michael McGinnis, of Lyndhurst, Virginia, who was the successful bidder for the Elk Conservation Tag, harvested an antlered elk. McGinnis harvested a 7x9 on Oct. 19, in Jay Township, in Elk County. McGinnis purchased the Conservation Elk Tag during the Safari Club International’s national conference in early 2011, and was able to hunt from Sept. 1-Nov. 5.

Under the state law that created the Elk Conservation Tag, of the $29,000 that McGinnis bid for the tag, $23,200 will go to the Game Commission’s Game Fund and $5,800 will be retained by Safari Club International.