DISCLAIMER!!!!
Now I could right a book about what is going on in this video, how this happened and how we could not stop it. So before you start calling us "bad owners" and saying that "we should have stopped it" please read and understand the following.
It is in every whitetail bucks nature to try and be the number one (dominant) male. Antlers are for achieving that purpose by killing (yes killing) the other buck. This is nature. Whitetail deer were designed this way to allow the strongest genetics to continue on in the offspring.
Now. These two bucks had been together all fall, which means that breeding season had come and gone and there were no issues. The bucks didn't try to kill each other and were okay in each others company. Magnitude was clearly the dominant male all fall, as he was a year older, and at least 100 pounds heavier than Heart Attack. Normally a younger buck wont challenge an older buck that has been dominant his whole life.
However, for some reason Heart Attack decided to challenge Magnitude after the rut. Maybe he thought Magnitude looked weak, or slow, or maybe he just saw red.
WE DID NOT ENCOURAGE THEM TO FIGHT IN ANY WAY, IT IS IN THEIR NATURE TO DO SO.
So as you can see Heart Attack went after Magnitude as soon as he saw him. We were trying to film some other deer behavior, so we kept the camera rolling. We did not want either buck to get hurt, or killed. These are specially trained show bucks that are not afraid of people in any way. These bucks actually travel the country with us every year and are viewed by thousands of people.
Now you may ask, if we know that it is in a deer's nature to try and kill other bucks, why not put them in separate pens? Sometimes that is not an option. We are limited in what resources we have, and by what bucks we have. For example. We would never place two 3 year olds in the same pen (during the rut). That is asking for problems. Normally a 3 and a 4 year old will get along as long as the 4 year old is clearly dominant. Which was the case here.
We tried to separate the bucks once the fighting began, as you can see. Pepper spray had no effect on the bucks. We carry pepper spray for our own defense if a buck comes at us and it usually works quite well. We rarely have to use it but we always have it around bucks with hard antlers.
Our next option was to try and get a four-wheeler back to the pen where the bucks are. Heart Attack does not like four-wheelers and will normally retreat. But the bucks were done before this could be tried.
This is by far the longest fight we have ever witnessed. Most are decided in less than a minute. In this situation, neither buck wanted to turn and run, in fear of getting a tine in the ribs or the hind end. You can see at the end how that is a huge possibility. Many bucks (not on our farm) die from this every year. In fact if Magnitude had not hit that tree trunk as they were disengaging there is a good chance that Heart Attack would have taken a shot to the ribs.
After the fight we examined both bucks and saw (to our surprise) no injuries to either animal. We could have lost both bucks in a fight like this and we lost neither. Magnitude clearly won, and Heart Attack never challenged him again.
Magnitude lived another two years, and died from an antler infection at 6 years old. He was one of our favorite bucks and is greatly missed. He had an amazing attitude towards people and would let small children sit on his back (during the summer months).
Heart Attack is currently 6 years old, and is still not the dominant buck on the farm. Magnitudes younger brother, Waldo, who is 4 years old now is the head honcho. Waldo, much like Magnitude, is close to 400 pounds in the fall and put Heart Attack in his place in a light sparring match in September of 2018. Heart Attack still travels around the country with us and is a well behaved show buck.
This video is the worst fight we have ever witnessed. Both bucks were lucky to come out with zero injuries.
Now if you read this whole thing, you are a very patient person.
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And remember... We NEVER want our bucks to fight, and we never would have put these bucks together if we thought there was a chance that that could happen.
