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Posting 2 of 13 in this SERIES chronicling the life of "The Wounded Buck" "Click" http://www.pbase.com/hankvv/image/153715503 for posting #1, then "Click" "Next" "Next" etc, or hit the right arrow on the keyboard, to view all postings in the order posted.
According to the literature, White-tailed Deer usually live about six years in the wild, with some up to ten years. Since this herd and numerous other herds reside in huge areas of Federal Government protected lands within and surrounding the City, these Deer may live a bit longer than those found completely in the wild. There is no hunting allowed in these areas, however, the deer are still, perhaps to a lesser degree, subjected to Wolves, Coyotes, poachers and road traffic as there are many roads passing through these lands. Only recently one large Buck from the herd, a potential challenger to The Boss, was reportedly killed in a road accident.
This herd consists of five to six Bucks of various ages and 15 to 25 Does over who “The Boss” is generally in charge, for now at least, and probably until a more aggressive or powerful upstart knocks him from his throne. Presently there seem to be a couple of big upstarts that will probably give “The Boss” a run for his money next year as he is getting on in years. I estimate him to be around eight years old now; hence, he is probably approaching the end of his dominance and life.
At times, the Deer are easy to locate. Other times one can spend days looking for them and not see any. This is especially so during fawning time when they are most difficult to find. During extreme cold weather, the Deer seem to come out more frequently to look for handouts from people traveling the trails through the woods. The Bucks are the more difficult to approach or find; however, when food is put out for the Does, they will quickly chase the Does away and monopolize the food, once the people have backed off or have moved on.
Note: The next posting will be of images of the young Buck prior to being wounded.
