Black tails scraping

[alecvg]

Thank all of you very much, now i have this cleared up

[boneaddict]

Polarbear you crack me up.

[PolarBear]

What did I do now? 

[boneaddict]

Well one, the deer getting the fruit tree reminds me of Idabooner and his pet that totally shredded a bunch of his trees, and then the steer or heffer season.

[gkowen]

I was putting my cameras back in my area in Lewis County that I have been gettting alot of buck photos.  I noticed a fresh rub on a tree 20 yards or so away from me.  It seems very early for that, its only July 12.  About 4 feet away from the rub was an area where the ground was cleared of all the fir needles and it was torn up. It was oval shaped and about 2 1/2 feet wide.  I didn't think blacktails made scrapes either but this was a scrape. It is early for sure though for this kind of activity. Anyway, I have a camera set up on it. We will see if its real or some hunter making a mock scrape and peeing in it himself.  If its a hunter I plan on making an 8x10 print and leaving it on the scrape.  Actually, I have no doubt this was made by a deer.

[littlebuf]

why wouldn't black tails scrape? ive never heard of black tails being a deer that doesn't scrape

[bow4elk]

why wouldn't black tails scrape? ive never heard of black tails being a deer that doesn't scrape

Whitetails and Blacktails are different species of deer, therefore they have different behaviors and rituals for mating.  All deer use their preorbital gland, located below each eye (contains a foul smelling waxy substance that is that deer's fingerprint in the deer world), to leave their mark in and around their home range.  They also have a gland on the forehead that provides additional scent to the trees they rub and thrash during the pre-rut and peak-rut phases of the breeding cycle.

But making scrapes - pawing out a clearing, urinating, and chewing/licking and rubbing preorbital scent on a "licking branch" is purely whitetail behavior and not done by Columbian Blacktail deer.  Scrapes occur on the perimeter of openings, field, and travel routes.  There are many studies published on scraping behavior if you want to learn more about the science and physiology of it all.

[littlebuf]

thats all real nice but black tails still do scrape 

[bow4elk]

It's not the normal mating ritual behavior, regardless of you may see from time to time.  Not saying they can't or won't, but it's not a common behavior.  Also, there are Columbian Whitetails in western Washington, western Oregon and a pocket in northwestern California.  They exhibit all of the typical whitetail behaviors of any other whitetail, and they DO interbreed with Columbian blacktails, though infrequently.  In this case, it would be quite possible to see traditional whitetail rutting behavior in a blacktail.

[RyanD]

My wife and I watched a forked horn buck make a scrape last year on an old overgrown road.  We watched this for about 5 min as he pawed the ground peed in it and worked a branch overhead.  Before I had seen this I would have said they don't make scrapes but I watched it last year with my own eyes. 

[rasbo]

well the blacktail comes from the whietail,I seen a big scrape in the winston unit,and blew the hunt,while I was checking out the scrape the buck made off,but not withiut me getting a good look at him 

[boneaddict]

Not normally littlebuf.  As stated, it can happen, but its not something you'd normally find and when they do it, its not generally like a whitetails.  Muledeer do it too.  Its generally referred to as a lick though.  Looks more like a dug out bed where they piss and roll, again, unlike whitetails. 

[gkowen]

It will be interesting what the camera shows. The thing that stumps me is it is near a rub on a tree. It is obvious this rub is fresh. It is the second I have seen in this area. It seems very early for the buck to be working the velvet off.

[boneaddict]

way early.

[littlebuf]

well maybe it's just different then, ive never hunted white tails just the blackies so what im calling a scrape may be the wrong terminology in the deer world but it's what i know