The moon hunters phenomenon full#

Sometimes a spike in activity occurs at the start of the month and sometimes almost at the end. We all know that the 'running time' of the whitetail occurs each year sometime in November in the Southern Tier of New York state and northern tier counties of Pennsylvania. Scientists have artificially skewed the breeding cycles of both bucks and does with injections of melatonin, taking these cues from classic agronomy practices, such as those used in goat and sheep husbandry. In a similar way sheep farmers insert melatonin sponges into ewes to time their cycles. Seems it takes a while for the hormones or lack thereof to alter behavior. rutting) comes to the fore as melatonin production decreases.Īnd there's a lag time of a few days to almost a week.

The moon hunters phenomenon full#

Then as the Full Moon wanes towards the dark of the moon or New Moon, testosterone- powered behavior (i.e. As the Full Moon waxes (getting brighter and reflecting more sunlight) there is also a proportionate increase of melatonin, dripped out of the pineal gland (which, according to researchers, waters down testosterone and other sex hormones) in the whitetail. Melatonin production is a key ingredient to this rut equation. The shortening days of fall set the timer for not only does to cycle, but also bucks' pheromone levels to increase too as bucks and does exchange pheromones at scrapes. Well, whitetails have a pineal gland in their brain, as do many critters, which processes light. Light effects hormone flow and behavior - especially breeding and especially in certain species of animals termed short-day breeders. Photoperiodism is a big word that conveys a simple concept. Not only do unbred does cycle again (each month) along with about 30% of the doe fawns, but also bucks 'cycle' in a way, too.īucks' testosterone/pheromone production goes in waves and troughs throughout the months.Īccording to science, studying shifts in deer behavior, the white-tailed deer, along with other related animals, are chained to a phenomenon termed photoperiodism. Got unfilled deer tags: Before you give up, change things up And it happens every year, but not exactly at the same time on our calendars.īut it's about the same time on their internal time clocks.ĭeer researchers attribute late season diurnal (daytime) buck movement to a phenomenon called the 'Post Rut.' This year, we know it as a third wave of breeding, following the first rut that occurred around Halloween, and a second wave, just before Thanksgiving.