Read the original story about Bucko
Welcome Back Bucko!
Keep scrolling after you read the story. There are more pictures!
This year, Bucko returned on February 13, 2003. I had just finished feeding about 8 or 9 deer who usually come in for morning rations. I had just come back into the house and Barb was looking out the window and lo and behold, there he was! What a magnificent animal!
He's avoided the mighty hunter for another year. In so doing, he is very smart and must spend most of the year in the deep woods where man does not go. He still stands out from the others by sheer size, and is in charge while eating the rations I put out for them. It appears he has the same number of points on his antlers as in past years.
The first year he dropped them on January 11th just out from the kitchen window, and we were amazed at the late timing, as they usually lose them around the middle of December. Last year he first appeared on February 24, 2002, and on March 6, he appeared without antlers. We didn't get them that year, but one of our neighbors (who also feeds him) found one of them, but never the other.
I'm sure he'll be in for daily feedings, but will he leave his antlers nearby this year? Time will tell.
Well, time did tell. On February 16, 2003 in comes Bucko with 6 other deer, but he was minus his antlers. He came within ten feet of me and when he put his head down, it was obvious by the marks and red color where his antlers were attached, that he had just lost them, or most likely just recently knocked them off. At least he waited until he could show them off to us again.
This story took place at our home here in White City on the Keweenaw Peninsula during the winter of 2002/2003. I took all photographs with our Sony Mavica MVC-FD87 digital camera.
This webpage was created by Barb Nelson on February 15, 2003, and updated on February 16, 2003.
