This is one of the more handsome bucks I’ve seen in a very long time.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc
I photographed him yesterday morning at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. He had a single doe with him that he was very attentive to but I didn’t get any good photos of her because whenever I turned my lens her way she was always facing away from me. Both of them were in deep vegetation much of the time so I chose to crop this image as a portrait.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc
Here’s a clearer shot for those who don’t particularly like all the grasses behind the buck in the first image. To my eye this guy’s face looks remarkably like that of a sheep and that intrigues me.
Notice the highly swollen neck. When bucks are in rut their necks swell from the effects of testosterone, increased blood flow and muscle mass. Some sources I’ve seen say that the circumference of the neck can increase by as much as 50% from the swelling. The swelling goes down again soon after the rut. I think it gives them a striking look, especially when combined with impressive antlers and those distinctive large ears.
1/2500, f/6.3, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc
Here’s a look at the entire animal as he slowly but emphatically walked his lady (out of frame in front of him) away from the road. I like this shot for a variety of reasons including the fact that I seldom see Mule Deer images with water in the background.
I don’t post deer images often but this buck impressed me enough that I worked unusually hard at maneuvering my pickup to get better shots of him and I think the extra effort was worth it. As I was photographing him I heard the annoying sounds of duck hunter’s shotguns which made me thankful that this handsome guy made it through the deer hunting season intact.
Ron
Gorgeous creature.
My Hubby said “Wow”…Love your photos of the Buck!
Please tell your husband thanks for me, Jean.
Sensational shots Ron and interesting information!
Charlotte
Thank you, Charlotte.
Stunning.
Love the trophy photos. All of them. Loathe and detest any trophy hunting which involves death.
I am intrigued at the swollen neck too. A side effect of testosterone I wasn’t aware of…
“Loathe and detest any trophy hunting which involves death”
As do I, EC.
That’s a very handsome fellow! I would definitely rather have your portrait shot on my wall than a so called “trophy”! The male deer, elk, moose are all majestic this time of year!
I’m glad you like him, Jeff. Thanks.
That buck is one handsome dude! And I had so much rather have a great photo like the top one hanging on my wall than the poor fellow’s head!
The one of him walking is sheer elegance! Thanks for your comments about the neck! I had no idea!
“And I had so much rather have a great photo like the top one hanging on my wall than the poor fellow’s head”
Well said, Jane. Thank you.
This is a gorgeous buck, and I join you in being glad he made it through deer-hunting season. I also see the resemblance to a sheep, something one definitely doesn’t expect in a deer. Most of the deer I ever see are white-tails, when we’re at the Outer Banks NC. So it’s nice to see a mule deer. I’m glad you decided to photograph him and do this post.
“I’m glad you decided to photograph him and do this post”
Me too, Susan. The vast majority of my posts are about birds but it’s nice to broaden my horizons occasionally too.
Lovely images, Ron, as usual! Thank you! Opening your site makes my day.
And having you here certainly contributes to mine, Laura. Thank you.
What a beauty Ron! Don’t get to see images of Mule Deer like this very often, especially the water in the background–cool! They are lovely animals and your images really portray this 😉 We always enjoy seeing “mulies” when we are out west–makes us feel that we are truly out on the range. Bravo!
Thanks very much, Christine.
Figured I’d look it up: Deer, Sheep, Goats, Bison, Pronghorn belong to the Artiodactyla family. Bison, Goat and Sheep are Bovidae. Deer, Moose and Elk are Cervidae. Pronghorns are Antiocapridae. Lovely words, lovely animals. Like the first shot especially for how the vegetation echoes the spectacular antlers.
Thanks for the research, Alison. And for your take on the first image. I suspect some will like the background vegetation in that shot and some won’t be big fans of it.
Thanks for looking it up, Alison. It seemed a little strange to me that Artiodactyla was the family, when the other names sounded like family names (sorry, I was a biology major a few million years ago). So I looked that up and Artiodactyla is actually the order those families belong to. I hope I haven’t offended you with this.
Thanks, Susan, for making the differentiation between orders and families – I’d scanned the info online quickly, and hadn’t retained that when I posted my response.
OK – time for me to take a fresh breath and go back to the Montana field guide site: http://fieldguide.mt.gov/displayFamily.aspx?order=Artiodactyla
Seems like the folks who posted the info referred to Artiodactyla as both Order and Family in the same line: I’ll copy and paste what appears:
Order – Deer / Sheep / Goats / Bison / Pronghorn – Artiodactyla Family
Bison / Goat / Sheep – Bovidae
Deer / Moose / Elk – Cervidae
A tad confusing, but interesting nonetheless. All beautiful. All good.
Alison, I owe you a hue apology, for creating confusion. My brain must have gone on vacation without warning me. The Artiodactyla family contains the orders Bovine and Cervidae, as you have shown. And what I was recognizing was the names of orders. This literally hit me around 3 AM this morning. Again, I apologize for creating confusion.
What an incredibly handsome, healthy animal…don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful buck! He could certainly father some amazing, sturdy babies…that is, if some sicko, like that dentist who killed Cecil the lion, doesn’t get the itch to kill him just for the “thrill(????)of the kill”– and another head to hang on his or her wall…
My neighbor has sheep and I thought he looked sheep-like, too…guess they’re not that far apart genetically…
“guess they’re not that far apart genetically”
You’re probably right, Patty. I should look into that, though one has antlers and the other has horns so that makes me wonder…
Gorgeous Buck, Ron!! Loved the series and I’m with you to see he’s survived deer hunting season. When deer hunting season was open in MI I-75 was a parking lot!! I dreaded seeing it start since I was so impacted by Disney’s Bambi that the thought of hunting season always makes me sad. Now in Florida they have begun hunting bears again – just hate to see it happen. We humans are causing extinction rates for so many animals to rise!!
Thanks, Jo Ann. I’ve been following that Florida black bear hunt but while I was there recently I had other things on my mind and didn’t see much about the controversy.
With the enlarged neck along with his rack he certainly should do damage when fighting for a harem. Beautiful shots, lovely animal!
Ever photographed competition for a harem? I think that would be one heck of a scene!
Thanks for sharing.
“Ever photographed competition for a harem?”
No, I haven’t, Dick. I would dearly (pun intended) love to!
That IS a nice buck – something folks here are looking for this time of year tho for different reasons – we have a couple of weeks more of big game hunting and the bucks are “it” more than usual due to a Whitetail die off a couple of years back and slow recovery of the mule deer population in general tho we have plenty of them here. His face does look like sheep like – suspect the swollen neck contributed to that. Glad you decided to photograph him.
“His face does look like sheep like”
I’m glad that you see it too, Judy. I was unsure about mentioning that because I thought folks might think I was crazy but every time I look at the closeups I think that face (minus the antlers) resembles that of a sheep.