Black-tailed Deer

This young buck appeared below my house (an edge zone w/ some riparian habitat with good grass, shelter & water) about a week after the hunting season ended and several weeks into the beginning of the rut. Late 2012 seemed to be good for our local deer population after a spring and summer of apparently high fawn mortality. The rut was active with many well formed younger bucks and a good number of does. (based solely on personal observations of this location over 13 years).