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November 2, 2005

Through The Looking Glass: Rutting Reflections

Tap, Tap, Tap. Tap, Tap, Tap.

Every year, a little bird visits my upstairs bedroom window in the early morning hours.Tap, Tap, Tap. I throw the Kleenex box on my beside table at the window and the bird scampers away, returning five minutes later to tap some more. It's mating season and the little bird is either courting its reflection or challenging another good looking male. Either way, I'm up for the day.

Apparently, this behavior scales to larger creatures, like deer. White-tailed deer populations have skyrocketed, leading to more and more encounters with humans. Just yesterday in Benton County, Arkansas, a five-point whitetail buck crashed through a window into someone's home. Earlier in the week, another deer became trapped in a nearby elementary school hallway.

For 40 exhausting minutes, Wayne Goldsberry battled a buck with his bare hands in his daughter's bedroom.

...

The deer ran down the hall and into the master bedroom — "jumping back and forth across the bed."

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This time of year, bucks that see their reflection in windows often charge them, believing the mirror image to be a rival.

More At: MSNBC.com: Man battles buck with his bare hands, and wins

In one case, the school principal was able to release the deer by opening a door and allowing the deer to escape. However, the man who wrestled the deer in his house now plans to eat it...

Posted by sorsha at November 2, 2005 12:42 PM