Show notes for Pre&Post Bucks podcast #123
Many wildlife biologists agree that the diminishing ratio of daylight to darkness is the primary factor in triggering the rut.
For those that want to know the technical term its called “ Photoperiodismâ€
These shorter days induce hormone-level changes in both bucks and does. Because daylight hours diminish more rapidly in northern latitudes, rutting activity is generally more concentrated in the northern part of the whitetail’s range. As Ontario is at the northern end of a whitetail range we experience the rut early.
Photoperiodism is only part of the rut story.Â
 
Moonlight intensity—specifically a bright full moon waning to a dark new moon—affects the timing of the rut. When daylight and moonlight reach a certain level, the doe prepares to enter estrus.Â
Daylight triggers it but it’s the bright full moon that sets it off. Read the rest of this entry »