Blast From the Past

There are lots of blog topics I've neglected to post about, so since I strained my back yesterday moving boxes and cant do much of anything interesting today, I might as well dredge up some retroactive content.

Remember Trail Cam Tuesday?  well think of this as "I'm So Sorry Sunday." 
As I was sifting through my folder of trail cam footage, I found this magnificent 7 point buck from last December, and my breath caught again just as it was when i recovered the memory card from the camera last year.

This photo was not taken in some pristine bit of forest or a wildlife refuge.  This photo was taken in a small suburban woodlot next to the interstate.  I see deer often in this area, but seldom do I see a buck as large and healthy as him.
I live in an area with a healthy hunting population.  I forget the exact numbers but I remember reading once that something like 15 people per square mile hold hunting permits.  Now, I am far from anti-hunting and very much pro-hunting, as much as I am pro-wildlife and pro-conservation.  you may think it odd, but as well-intentioned as the anti-hunting crowd may be, sound wildlife management is necessary for conservation, especially in a state where large predators like wolves, lynx and cougars have largely been extirpated.  It's oft been said that deer are their own worst enemy, and in the absence of natural predators, they will overbreed and eat every last scrap of food in the landscape, starving themselves and many of the other animals. 

Venison is dang tasty, and as I type, my thought is drawn to the haunches of succulent meat that sit in my freezer, but my eating habits aside, it always warms my heart to see the ones that got away.  deer don't grow to this size by accident, only the clever ones can avoid the cars and the hunters for this long.  A whitetail buck has a home range of about 1 square mile which means by odds there are at least 15 people within his territory who would like to make a meal of him.  His antlers are a testament to his wariness and his wisdom.  If I'm lucky maybe I'll stumble upon his sheds in the woods.  and since old deer tend to be tougher and less tasty, I hope he avoids the cook pot and the car bumper for a long time to come. 

As always, thanks for reading :)

Trail Cam Tuesday

For a change of pace, i set my trail camera to video, and it was a good decision!  the rational was that instead of capturing one angle of blurry, out of focus animals i could choose from multiple frames, take screen captures, make gifs, or even post whole videos of interesting interactions.

this week, my camera was graced by a porcupine, and two young bucks; a proud, but modestly antlered 5-point and a nervous young spiker.  screencaps have been provided below, though i shall include full-video links to all the encounters at the bottom of the post.

the nervous spiker

if you are concerned about the well-being of these deer, do know that in the state i live, bucks must have at least 6 points to be legally taken, so these youngsters are for now safe from the glances of hunters.  but also i feel it must be mentioned that by and large, hunting is far more humane than raising animals for meat on farms, and these animals will have lived full lives, filled with warm summer days, nectar flavored flowers and rich autumn acorns.  Should the day come that these noble beasts end up on a hunter's table, they will have had a life brimming with experiences most of their domesticated brethren have never known.  this blog is 100% pro subsistence hunting, though definitely not anti-agriculture, and not all farmed animals live their life penned up either. 

the proud 5-point

 so withut further ado, i will supply links to the videos, although the porcupine strayed very close to the camera and he is an over-exposed mess of spines.