What did you do today?

[Wapiti]

Something not seen very often, thought i'd share to get the hunters thinking about the stags.
These two old red stags have dropped their antlers as they do around this time, but that doesn't stop them fighting. They know their antlers are gone, so they flog the hell out of one another by boxing.

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There was this younger stag, who got involved too, that still had his antlers, and one of the big boys knocked one of his antlers off and it went cartwheeling over our heads.

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Unreal to watch, especially right next to you. I wish we could post a video here, my wife got a great one of the stags just walking around in circles on their hind legs like humans, knocking the hell out of one another.

[Damo300]

Maybe they've been watching the roos, and perhaps had a few roos shape up, so they've adopted the stance...
Love the tongue out the side of the mouth.

[Wapiti]

Deer use their hooves just as much as antlers. They rear up and box at 1000mph, slash or stomp. The front of their hooves can lay you open like a Stanley knife would.
The tongue thing is interesting, when they are coming at you and aggressive, they often hang their tongue out the side in between grinding their teeth.
Good pick-up, Damo.
Old mate's gone, I'm out of here.

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Enjoy your weekend fellas.

[perentie]

Thanks for the pics. Never seen that before

[Wapiti]

Most people haven't Keith, most hunters spot the animal, get into a stalk and shoot it. Or it smells/spots them and is off.

Stags will do this as much as use their antlers, in fact from what I see a bit they will come up from behind and rear up and take another stag by surprise when it is courting a hind, stomp it and when it drops then as it rolls over it's exposed to being speared by the attackers antlers.
They know that a head-head fight results in lost eyes, noses and broken skulls. I would say to people, if they do sit and watch stags a bit they will agree that most antler-fights look like just half-hearted sparring.
I've seen this as much as antler-fights, I've actually been stomped and antlered a few times and even had to have my bicep screwed back on after one deer attack. No better addition to a pile of evidence when getting a farm handgun license renewed than an included zip folder of a surgeon's letter, a doctors letter and some injury photos and xrays.
Or iphone video of wild dogs running at you from behind dozer windrows and you use your handgun to turn them around.