Woodland Snowfall

It is my pleasure to introduce you to ‘E11even’ . He is without a doubt, the alpha male of the herd I have been spending a great deal of time with since early 2021. I gave him the nickname of Elleven due to the fact he is an 11-point buck. This means his antlers contain 11 points, or tines as they are called. Any point that branches out from a deer antler and is at least an inch in length is a tine. E11even often has this nonchalant look about him. I find his look fitting, given he is the alpha and lives in a forest within the city boundaries. Because of his location, E11even has little to worry about, no hunters and very few if any natural predators here.

E11even leads and the others follow. When we first met, some of the younger bucks would partially scatter, E11even would remain calm, poised and hold his ground. The deer who scattered, would only go so far, before stopping to turn and look back. They would look at E11even as if to say, “You coming!?” If I may answer for E11even, no! The bucks who then scattered would return and over the course of time, the rest of the deer started to recognize me and realize that I am no threat to them. Gaining trust earned me a spot right alongside the herd, opening up further opportunities for capturing unique behaviours and moments.

Side note: In mid-February of 2021 E11even shed his antlers. (Deer drop their antlers each year and a new set start growing in the spring.) I was determined to find at least one of E11even’s antlers. After scouring the forest floor for 3-weeks I was starting to lose hope that I would find one. However, fittingly on March 11th my persistence paid off! I was just shy of hitting the 400 km point in my shed hunting season (almost 600,000 steps) when my eyes lit up as I spotted E11even’s 6-point antler laying on the forest floor! I knew immediately who’s antler it was when I saw it, I was beyond excited to be gifted this forest treasure after clocking hundreds of hours spent in E11even’s presence and putting in hundreds of kilometres in search of one of his antlers! For the rest of my life, I will cherish this gift, which is now proudly displayed next to one of my photos of the antler’s original owner!