NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/1040966
22 NEBRASKAland • NOVEMBER 2018 MYTHS LEGENDS he rut is one of the most, if not the most, talked about subjects in the outdoor world. Do an online search, take a look at the magazine shelves or turn on an outdoor television program and facts about the rut are everywhere, yet certain myths and legends continue to prevail. The myths and facts below represent the most up-to-date information regarding what we think we knew about the rut and what research has actually stated. Myth: The moon phase affects when most does are bred. Fact: From 1999-2006, Penn State University, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, checked 3,507 road-killed does with fetuses, cross-referencing the median date of conception with the date of the full moon. Their results showed that regardless of the date of the full moon, the median date of the rut was around Nov. 13 for adults and Nov. 25 for fawns (a period sometimes referred to as the second rut). Similar results have been reached at various universities and cooperatives. Myth: A scrape is created, and maintained, by one buck. Fact: Once created, a scrape can and will be visited by multiple bucks living in the same region. Most scraping, notes a long list of sources, occurs at night and nearly always occurs before peak breeding begins. Myth: The rut is dictated by cooler weather. Fact: Photoperiod, or the length of daylight, is the primary contributor to the rut. Think of areas of the country where "cooler" weather is much less extreme than Nebraska's (e.g. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi) where bucks still go through the rut. Myth: The rut is the same length of time each year. Fact: While the rut may occur during the same general time period each year, the factors determining its length will vary. The closer the buck to doe ratio is 1:1, the smaller the rut period will be, or the greater distance the deer might expand his home range. Myth: All does go into estrus at relatively the same time. Fact: Does will go through estrus at different times during the fall, forcing hunters to find one more reason they need to be in the woods another day. In a study by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission, in which 300 hunter-harvested does were examined, the earliest date a doe was bred by a buck was June 22 and the latest date was April 18 of the following year. In our northern state, this window is much smaller – yet still a window nonetheless. Myth: Bucks go through an October lull, where their movements are at a minimum. Fact: In a Pennsylvania study featuring GPS-collared bucks, there was no evidence of decreased movement during this time period. While the sample size was small, similar results were found in other studies, including in Maryland. In this study, GPS-collared bucks moved an average of 1½ miles in a 24-hour period. By October, this distance increased to 2 miles per day and up to 2½ miles per day during the peak time of the rut. Myth: All fawns begin breeding their second year. Fact: With proper nutrition and body size (i.e. 80 to 90 pounds for northern deer), 7- to 8-month-old doe fawns can reproduce. These does are quite often the reason for the second rut later in the deer season. Myth: Small bucks don't breed does. Fact: Just like the myth stating that a spike can never become a big-antlered buck, this myth is also false. While smaller bucks are at a disadvantage because older bucks will push them out – as well as research from Mississippi State University that states that estrus does will often choose larger-antlered deer – small bucks are also capable of breeding does. T and The full moon was thought to affect when most does are bred, but research says otherwise. Cooler weather does not dictate the rut. The photoperiod, or length of daylight, is the primary contributor. Some fawns can breed their first year and are quite often the reason for the "second rut."