What's up with the "rut"?

You may have heard the term "rut" before and wondered what that world means, exactly. Well, let me just give you a little insight!

Rut = mating season of ruminant animals such as deer, sheep, elk, moose, ibex, goats, pronghorn and Asian and African antelope.
The rut in many species is triggered by a shortening of the length of daylight hours each day. The timing of the rut for different species depends on the length of their gestation period (length of pregnancy), usually occurring so the young are born in the spring, shortly after new green growth has appeared (which provides food for the females, allowing them to provide milk for the young), and when the temperatures are warm enough that the young will not die.

ELK
The gestation period for an elk is 240 to 262 days, therefore, they are starting to show "rut" activity now.  During this time...
   * mature bulls compete for the attentions of the cows and will try to defend females in their harem (group of females)
   *A bull will defend his harem of 20 cows or more from competing bulls and predators.
   * Rival bulls challenge opponents by bellowing and by paralleling each other, walking back and forth
   * If neither bull backs down, they engage in antler wrestling.
   *Bulls will vocalize in loud screams known as bugling, which can be heard for miles and are most commonly heard early and late in the day.
   * Females are attracted to the males that bugle more often and have the loudest call.


 
** Antler Wrestling
** To hear an elk bugle, visit   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYzWmKlZtrU

2011 Cub Weights

Cub #	Pull weight (lbs.oz)	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3
1 (black female)	3.13	4.8	5.5	6.6
2 (black male)	5.3	5.13	6.10	7.9
3 (black female)	4.2	4.11	5.6	6.7
4 (brown female)	5.3	6.7	8.5	8.14
5 (brown male)	5.3	6.6	8.1	8.11
6 (brown male)	5.8	7.8	9.0	9.11
7 (black female)	3.1	3.8	4.4	5.1
8 (black female)	3.2	4.2	4.13	5.6
9 (black male)	3.6	4.4	5.0	5.10
10 (black male)	4.3	4.15	5.11	6.14
11 (brown female)	4.10	5.2	6.0	7.1
12 (brown male)	4.1	4.10	5.9	6.10

*Remember - the pull date was March 3, 2011.  This was just the day we "pulled" them from the den. 
*On this date they were about 6-7 weeks old.
*We leave them with the mom for these weeks to make sure they get that good momma's milk.
*When they are born they are only about 0.5lb (the size of a stick of butter)

GRIZZY BEARS!!!!!

1.      The word "grizzly" in its name refers to "grizzled" or grey hairs in its fur, but when naturalist George Ord formally named the bear in 1815, he misunderstood the word as "grisly".

2.      The grizzly bear is a subspecies of the brown bear.

3.      A pronounced muscular hump occurs on their shoulders which strengthens their front limbs for digging and running.

4.      Grizzlies can attain a speed of about 35 mph.

5.      Once mated with a male in the summer, the female delays embryo implantation until hibernation.

6.      On average, females produce two cubs in a litter^[10] and the mother cares for the cubs for up to two years, during which the mother will not mate.

7.      Although grizzlies are of the order Carnivora and have the digestive system of carnivores, they are actually omnivores, since their diet consists of both plants and animals.

8.      In preparation for winter, bears can gain approximately 400 lb (180 kg), during a period of hyperphagia, before going into false hibernation.

9.      The bear often waits for a substantial snowstorm before it enters its den: such behaviour lessens the chances that predators will find the den. The dens are typically at elevations above 6,000 feet (1,800 m) on north-facing slopes.

10.  Once the young leave or are killed, females may not produce another litter for three or more years, depending on environmental conditions.

 CORKY!!

Elk (Cervus elaphus)

      1)     Bull = Male adult; Cow = Female adult; Calf = baby; Spike = Yearling male

2)     Calves are Typically born in late May through early June and are born spotted and scentless

3)     An elks diet consists mostly of grasses, forbs, shrubs, tree bark, and twigs

4)     An elk's stomach has four chambers: the first stores food, and the other three digest it

5)     Antlers = Only male elk have antlers; Bulls shed and grow a new set of antlers every year; New antlers are covered in fuzzy skin called velvet; Antlers harden by late summer and the velvet peels away; By September, antlers are solid bone; A set of antlers on a mature bull can weigh up to 40 pounds

6)     Ivories = An elk's top two canine teeth are called ivories; Scientists believe ivories are remnants of saber-like tusks that ancestral species of elk used in combat; Most hunters save ivories as a memento of the hunt.

7)     In the winter, Elk grow winter coats consisting of long, waterproof guard hairs covering dense, woolly underfur and bed down in the trees at night to seek shelter from wind and cold temperatures.

8)     When alarmed, elk raise their heads high, open their eyes wide, move stiffly and rotate their ears to listen and threaten each other by curling back their upper lip, grinding their teeth and hissing softly.

9)     Agitated elk hold their heads high, lay their ears back and flare their nostrils, and sometimes even punch with their front hooves

10)  Breeding season is called “Rut” and happens in fall.  Bulls will wallow in mud to coat themselves with "perfume" to attract cows and will sometimes battle for a cow, occasionally even fighting to the death

***Picture below shows a Bull Elk (male adult) standing with a group of deer.  As you can see, elk are much bigger!

Bison

Bison (Bison bison)

1. Also known as the American buffalo (although it isn't related to the true buffalo).
2. Due to their large size few predators attack bison. However, wolf packs can take down a bison. There are even documented cases of a single wolf taking down bison
3. The bison's main food is grass.
4. The rutting, or mating, season lasts from June through September with peak activity in July and August. At this time, the older bulls rejoin the herd and fights often take place between bulls.
5. They can move at speeds of up to thirty-five miles per hour and cover long distances at a lumbering gallop.
6. Their most obvious weapons are the horns borne by both males and females. But their massive heads can be used as battering rams, effectively using the momentum produced by two thousand pounds moving at thirty miles per hour.
7. At the time bison ran wild, they were rated second only to the Alaska brown bear as a potential killer, more dangerous than the grizzly bear.
8. Wallowing is a common behavior of bison. A bison wallow is a shallow depression in the soil, either wet or dry. Bison roll in these depressions, covering themselves with mud or dust. Possible explanations suggested for wallowing behavior include grooming behavior associated with moulting, male-male interaction, social behavior for group cohesion, play behavior, relief from skin irritation due to biting insects, and thermoregulation.
9. During the population bottleneck, American bison were interbred with domestic cattle. Accidental crossings were also known to occur. Generally male domestic bulls were crossed with buffalo cows producing offspring of which only the females were fertile.
10. Some cattle breeds are also partly bison, for instance, Beefalo

Similarities/Differences in White-tail and Mule Deer

White-tailed VS. Mule Deer

Differences

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus

            Or “Virginia Deer”

*All white tail

*Antlers branching from a single main beam

*Found more in the Eastern United States

Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)

*White tail except for a black tip

* Antlers are bifurcated, or "fork"

*Found more in the Western United States

Similarities

1. Adule males = Bucks; Adult females = Does; Babies = Fawn

2. The "rut" or mating season usually begins in the fall as does go into estrus for a period of a

    few days and males become more aggressive, competing for mates. Does may mate with more

    than one buck and go back into estrus within a month if they do not settle.
3.The gestation period is about 190–200 days, with fawns born in the spring, staying with their

   mothers during the summer and being weaned in the fall after about 60–75 days.

4. A buck's antlers fall off during the winter, to grow again in preparation for the next season's

    rut.

5. Fawns are born with white spots and serve as a form of camoflauge.  During the first summer

    the spots will disapear.

6. In summer, it chiefly forages on not only herbaceous plants, but also various berries.  In

    winter, it forages on conifers and twigs of deciduous trees and shrubs.  In season, it eats acorns

    and apples.

7. Deer are capable of producing audible noises, unique to each animal. Fawns release a high-

    pitched squeal, known as a bleat, to call out to their mothers. Does make maternal grunts when

    searching for their bedded fawns. Both does and bucks snort, a sound that often signals

    danger. As well as snorting, bucks also grunt at a pitch that gets lower with maturity. Bucks

    are unique in their grunt-snort-wheeze pattern that often shows aggression and hostility.

8. Bucks will attempt to copulate with as many females as possible, losing physical condition

    since they rarely eat or rest during the rut.

9. The general geographical trend is for the rut to be shorter in duration at increased latitude.

    There are many factors as to how intense the "rutting season" will be. Air temperature is one

    major factor of this intensity. Any time the temperature rises above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the

    males will do much less traveling looking for females, or they will be subject to overheating or

    dehydrating.

10. Another factor for the strength in rutting activity is competition. If there are numerous males

      in a particular area, then they will compete more for the females. If there are fewer males or

      more females, then the selection process will not need to be as competitive.

Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus)

1. Adult males = Billy; Adult females = Nannies; Babie = Kids
2. Both male and female mountain goats have beards, short tails, and long black horns, 15–28 cm in length, which contain yearly growth rings.
3. Male goats also have longer horns and a longer beard than nannies.
4. The mountain goat's feet have inner pads that provide traction and cloven hooves that can be spread apart as needed. Also, the tip of their feet have Dewclaws that are sharp to keep them from slipping.
5. Mountain goats are herbivores and spend most of their time grazing. Their diet includes grasses, herbs, sedges, ferns, moss, lichen, twigs and leaves from the low-growing shrubs
6. In the wild, mountain goats usually live twelve to fifteen years, with their lifespan limited by the wearing down of their teeth.
7. Kids are born in the spring (late May or early June) after a six month gestation period.
8. Although they are mostly weaned within one month, kids follow their mothers closely for the first year of life
9. Mountain goats reach sexual maturity at about thirty months. Nannies in a herd undergo synchronized estrus in late October through early December.  Mature billies will stare at nannies for long periods, dig rutting pits, and fight each other in showy scuffles. After the breeding season is over, males and females move away from each other, with the adult billies breaking up into small bands of two or three individuals. Nannies form loose-knit nursery groups of up to 50 animals.
10. Nannies can be very competitive and protective of their space and food sources. They will fight with one another for dominance in conflicts that can ultimately include all the nannies in the herd. In these battles, nannies will circle each other with their heads lowered, showing off their horns. To avoid fighting, an animal may show a posture of non-aggression by stretching low to the ground.