Look closerMammals
Buck rubs on young trees: what they are and when they appear
When: September to November
In early September bucks strip the dying velvet from their finished antlers, and from now through the November rut they leave rubs, shredded bark and gouges a foot to three feet up young trunks, that you can find on any woods walk.
Why this time of year
Velvet shed happens fast, in late August and early September, sometimes in a single hour, and the rubbing that starts then builds toward the New England rut in November, so fresh rubs accumulate all fall.
How to notice it
- Walk a wood edge or trail scanning trunks at knee to waist height for pale, shredded patches.
- Fresh rubs show bright exposed wood; older ones gray over.
- Check the neighborhood of a rub for others; bucks work the same routes.
- You are reading a signature, not meeting the author; the buck that made it is rarely seen.
Try this with kids: Who can find a tree wearing a scratched-off patch of bark at deer height?
velvet is the blood-rich skin that feeds a growing antler and dies once the antler is done
Sources
- extension.missouri.eduIn late August or early September antler growth is completed and blood ceases to flow to the antlers; velvet shedding occurs rapidly, usually in less than 24 hours; velvet falls off on its own but the process is accelerated by rubbing antlers on small woody shrubs.
- northernwoodlands.orgIncreased testosterone closes the blood vessels that nourished the growing antlers, causing the velvet to die and shed in early September, taking as little as an hour or as much as two days; a buck rubs antlers, forehead, and face on small overhanging limbs, leaving strips of velvet hanging like streamers.
- extension.psu.eduBuck rubs are damage from male deer rubbing antlers on young tree trunks during the autumn months, visible as rub marks, shredded bark, and gouges about 1-3 feet above the ground.
- massaudubon.orgIn New England, mating or rutting usually takes place in November or early December; in August and September male deer groups disband to search for females.
In the guide for September, October, November