I love me a good rut fight.
It seems crazy to think about the fact that these deer can live three quarters of their year in complete harmony, maybe even alongside each other, then out of nowhere the winds shift and they will fight each other sometimes to the point of death over a doe.
It shows the true colors of nature. It breaks it down to the rawest form. These animals really only worry about a couple of things; food and making babies.
And it kind of mirrors human nature… ever see a bunch of college guys fist fighting at a Taco Bell at 2 in the morning after the bars close?
That’s nothing more than sexual frustration… a group of horned up, testosterone-fueled males of the species, angry that their mating calls were not answered at the bar they just left. Or maybe they’re posturing to trying and impress the single females in line for a Cheesy Gordita Crunch with their drunken show of dominance.
Ok, maybe it’s not the same thing, but as a wise man once said:
“You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals so let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel…”
I digress…
Mule deer are a popular favorite of hunters across North America. Not only do the taste great, but they also have picture perfect antlers in their mature years.
They are a large deer, with males averaging around 200-pounds and females slightly smaller. They have a large range, stretching from Western Canada across the Western half of the United States, and down into Mexico… making them popular in many areas across the continent
Seeing a muley is always great, seeing them do what muleys do is even better. This young boy came across something many people only dream of seeing. A big ol’ muley fight near Rifle, Colorado.
Mule deer will fight each year when they are in the rut to show their dominance and scare off other bucks from their females. It’s essential for them to do so they can breed and pass on their genetics.
The bigger the deer, the more likely they are to win. This is what is best for the population as well, as the large and older deer generally have better genetics that allowed them to grow like that. These two big bucks are seen going head-to-head on a hillside. The are having a good fight when the bigger one gets some ground and starts pushing the other one back.
In the heat of the moment, the pair doesn’t really think about their surroundings as one pushes the other straight off a small cliff. The pair fall together and continue to fight until the hit flat ground again.
The smaller one clearly doesn’t like the fall and the risk of the fight as it takes off in the opposite direction.
What a battle to witness.. it’s a wild world out there.
