December buck returns after 3 year absence

[Native Hunter]

I checked a couple of cameras at lunch today and couldn't believe my eyes. A deer is back that I hadn't seen since December 2013. There is no doubt it is him, because you can check out the little kicker on his right G2. Check out the history pics below:

Interested in your thoughts on why such a long absence and why back now???? Also wonder if you agree with my aging of 6.5 this year.


2012 - First year I saw the deer. Came in December 2012 and had a broken beam on the left side. I aged the deer that year at 2.5.



2013 - The last year I saw this buck. He grew some from the year before.



Here he is back in 2016. He has gained a little mass and length, but pretty much just a slightly bigger version of 2013.

 

[dogdoc]

Good looking buck. Tall rack. Looks related to a couple of your other bucks being so tall and narrow.

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

That is great he showed back up. I think you are correct in your assumption that is the same deer and you are correct on your age estimate.
My experience with why a buck chooses to leave is because there is a more dominate buck. You were saying that all of your older bucks were killed off this year and this could be why he showed himself. Now that he is there I would be getting after him before he ups and leaves again.

 

[OkieKubota]

That is great he showed back up. I think you are correct in your assumption that is the same deer and you are correct on your age estimate.
My experience with why a buck chooses to leave is because there is a more dominate buck. You were saying that all of your older bucks were killed off this year and this could be why he showed himself. Now that he is there I would be getting after him before he ups and leaves again.

Yep - dominate bucks get killed off, other older bucks move in. Nature abhors a vacuum...

Laid Back 9 was a buck like this. First saw him as a 5.5+ in 2014. He spent the entire summer of 2015 on our place and left again the first week in October not to be seen again until spring of 2016. Again spent the entire summer on us and I killed him on October 2nd before he made his exit again. I don't think he was a breeder...moreso just an eater...he always looked submissive to other 3.5+ yr old bucks if they were in same photo even though he outweighed them by 30-40 pounds...

 

[deer patch]

I've had a few over the years that the deer left then came back also. All with distinctive racks. Mine left when they were 3 yrs old and came back when they were 6 yrs plus. I say plus because in 2011 I had a distinct racked buck leave and if it is the same buck he came back this year. If I am right about his age he would be 8 yrs old. When this deer left he traveled 2 miles away to a friends brothers farm. I will know soon enough because thanks to dgallow being kind enough to send off this deer incisors for a lab result.

I also assume that it's a dominance issue resulting in them leaving.

 

[JDunham]

Awesome, always exciting when a buck like that shows up after season. Love checking the cameras after season closes to see what is still around. We have had a few over the years that have disappeared for a year to a few years and then shown back up. Always confirmed from pictures from the previous years . Always wondered where they go and why. I think you are correct in your assessments.

 

[Native Hunter]

I've had a few over the years that the deer left then came back also. All with distinctive racks. Mine left when they were 3 yrs old and came back when they were 6 yrs plus. I say plus because in 2011 I had a distinct racked buck leave and if it is the same buck he came back this year. If I am right about his age he would be 8 yrs old. When this deer left he traveled 2 miles away to a friends brothers farm. I will know soon enough because thanks to dgallow being kind enough to send off this deer incisors for a lab result.

I also assume that it's a dominance issue resulting in them leaving.

Wow, 8 years old and gone all that time. I hope you post this up when you get the results.

 

[Native Hunter]

Awesome, always exciting when a buck like that shows up after season. Love checking the cameras after season closes to see what is still around. We have had a few over the years that have disappeared for a year to a few years and then shown back up. Always confirmed from pictures from the previous years . Always wondered where they go and why. I think you are correct in your assessments.

I do wonder where the heck that deer has been all that time. Blows my mind.

There is a level of intrigue for me about a deer that does something like this. I want to know all the answers but know that I will never find them. I think a psychologist would tell me that its because he is the phantom of the night, and free spirit I can never be - appearing like a ghost when and where he wants to, leaving the ladies breathless, and avoiding the arrows, bullets, coyotes, dogs, vehicles and all the other things that are out to bring him down. Okay, I will stop now.

 

[Fish]

He is a renegade, and we need to name him now.
Beautiful deer too. Where in the world do they go? I swear into a knothole sometimes.
So after 3 years, how is it you can think, hmmmm, ive seen you before? Youve been through countless cam pics since then.

 

[alldaysit]

You know what's interesting about these bucks that show up again or only in December..... they seldom have broken antlers.


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[Native Hunter]

He is a renegade, and we need to name him now.
Beautiful deer too. Where in the world do they go? I swear into a knothole sometimes.
So after 3 years, how is it you can think, hmmmm, ive seen you before? Youve been through countless cam pics since then.

Fish, I agree that we need to name him. I'm thinking "Jason Bourne," but if you can come up with a better name, I will give you the honors.

 

[Native Hunter]

You know what's interesting about these bucks that show up again or only in December..... they seldom have broken antlers.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

OMG, I just realized that you are right about that. That is truly the case with the ones I've seen. Can you explain why or do you have any theories?

 

[cutman]

They probably leave to avoid other mature bucks, and in doing so they avoid fighting. Hence, no broken tines.

 

[Buckly]

They probably leave to avoid other mature bucks, and in doing so they avoid fighting. Hence, no broken tines.

But, how do they know it's safe to come back? Do they recheck the area more frequent than we believe?

 

[Fish]

Fish, I agree that we need to name him. I'm thinking "Jason Bourne," but if you can come up with a better name, I will give you the honors.

Jason Bourne is fitting. He has that look about him.
I also like a Back to the Future theme. Maybe Marty, or Doc.......or DeLorean after the time machine.
Anybody else?

 

[dogdoc]

Prodigal Son

 

[Native Hunter]

Prodigal Son

I'm just glad to have one where we don't have to pull a name from "The Munsters" or "Young Frankenstein."

 

[Native Hunter]

But, how do they know it's safe to come back? Do they recheck the area more frequent than we believe?

This is a good point. I think cutman is right, but I don't know how they sense the others being gone without coming in occasionally to check things out. Maybe someone else has some thoughts on this.

I know that it is impossible to catch every deer that comes in on trail cameras, but I do have them set up to where its hard for a deer to get around them on my place. In just one day after this deer came in I had him on 4 different ones, and there are others that I haven't even checked yet. I've got the entry and exit points to the place locked down pretty good with cameras. Three years is a long time, and if he had been around very much, I think I would have had at least an occasional picture.

 

[wbpdeer]

Traveler is what I would call him or Rip Van Winkle because he disappeared.

Wayne

 

[dogghr]

That is cool to see Native. I agree, we miss bucks on camera but certain ones do seem to disappear and then return. I always think of the gps monitor of a buck that was shown on the other forum that returned to its birthplace only once before he returned there again several months later to die. Much like birds, I think deer just have an inherent sense of many things that we as humans have lost touch with perhaps.