The fighting bucks Dick and I saw last Sunday were a rare treat to witness but nothing like what we saw yesterday. As we photographed a small buck and a larger one in a gathering of does, another large buck entered the field very close to us and squared off with the larger buck. The two went at it tooth and nail for a full ten minutes, by the camera, without even pausing to catch their breath. This was no jousting match; these guys wanted to kill each other. Near the end their tongues were hanging out from exhaustion. The distance from us ranged from 10 to 30 yards as they battled without concern for our presence. At one point they sidestepped down hill rapidly sideway, locked together, in our direction, stopping barely 30 feet away. As I shot I could feel the ground shaking from the pounding of their hooves. The clash of the antlers, their snorting and the flying dust added to my adrenaline rush. At times I didn’t know whether to keep shooting or just watch them; it was that exciting. There were a few deep cuts and the eventual loser appeared to have severely damaged his jaw. This was one amazing fight to have witnessed so up close and personal.

Other images from this series can be seen at:
http://www.pbase.com/bkiefer/deer