ORIGINAL: quiksilver

I don't think there's any doubt that bucks know when does are ready to ovulate - which is why they start shadowing them in the chase phase. My point is that I think they know, much earlier. Obviously, this is virtually impossible to prove.

I admit that does tend to visit scrapes very sparingly, butI have a sound theory as to why:I've personally seen does visit and piss down their legs in some of the bigger scrapes over the summer and leading all the way up to the rut, which leads me to believe that there's more communication going on than "Hey, I think I'm ready to breed. Meet me here." I think it goes a step further, almost as if to say "Hi, I'm doe number 43597. I am not barren, and should be ovulating in approximately six weeks. Come back then."

To help explain why bucks check the scrapes so often, but does are rarely seen visiting the scrapes,think ofthe scrapeas a message board: I think the doe only has to visit thescrape siteoccasionallyleave her message behind. Bucks check themwith varying regularityfor new messages from new does. Younger bucks are impatient and inquisitive by their nature, so theylog on constantly.

This would also help explain why scrapes become active so long before the first does are ready to come into estrus.

In addition to breeding, I believe that the males use the chemical keys found inside the scrape as a "guestbook," which tells them who has been there, andwith what regularity. This lends itself to establishing territorial boundaries and eventually leads to a pecking order being established.

In all honesty, I think the bigger, more mature bucksuse the information gleaned fromthese community scrapes tominimize their travel (read: danger exposure)through using chemical keys found within the scrapes by known breeder doesthroughout all parts ofthe season, not just the pre-rut and chase periods. This helps explain why the big boys hardly ever get caught wasting their time/energy "cruising" before it's go-time. They don't have to. They already know when their target breeder does will be ready.

These are animals that are absolutely covered in glands and scent/chemicalreceptors - and live in a world of scent and nonverbal chemical cues. Just from an evolutionary and survival adaptibility perspective, it seems more than reasonable that these basic pieces of information could be passed on in the form of chemical signals where no verbal context exists.

I think each specific animal has its own chemical fingerprint.