Hunters drool over fresh rubs and scrapes. They’re thrilling to see during a scouting session or hunt, but deer are drawn to them for other reasons. Research from the University of Georgia shows that fresh rubs and scrapes actually glow for deer like “neon lights.”
This first-of-its-kind study highlights the photoluminescence observed in signposts (i.e., rubs and scrapes) used by deer and indicates that a combination of secretions from peeled tree bark and a deer’s forehead glands might contribute to this phenomenon.
Daniel DeRose-Broeckert, a graduate assistant at the UGA Deer Lab, spearheaded the experiment. To observe the photoluminescence of rubs and scrapes, he shone UV lights on them and measured their wavelengths with a spectrometer. In a recent interview, Derose-Broeckert spoke with NDA about his findings.
DeRose-Broeckert compiled data from 109 fresh rubs and 37 fresh scrapes and essentially found that fresher sign glows more than older sign. During the rut, scrapes tended to glow more as deer frequented them. On the other hand, rubs glowed more during the pre-rut.
Concerning rut activity, DeRose-Broeckert’s advisor, Dr. Gino D’Angelo, told NDA that these glowing signposts might expedite the “transit of deer” during the breeding season. Essentially, these “highway reflectors” might provide a visual for deer to locate other deer during the rut or even deter certain deer from others. Since deer can observe these signposts from a distance and use their incredible sense of smell, bucks can navigate the landscape quickly during the peak rut.
Deer are crepuscular mammals, meaning they are most active around sunrise and sunset. It’s no coincidence that UV light, according to NDA, appears most prevalent around dawn and dusk—peak deer movement time. Around dawn and dusk, this increased UV lighting allows deer to spot fresh rubs and scrapes from a distance.
Rather than visit a scrape or rub, deer might gather info visually as the rut advances, especially during peak activity hours (dawn/dusk). Understandably, a deer’s nose gets all the attention. However, DeRose-Broeckert’s research suggests that deer vision might play a larger role than hunters think.
If you’re hoping this research might tell you how to kill a buck over scrapes or rubs, it’s not that simple. In fact, it further supports the research that most deer sign is made at night. However, it does provide some insight into when you might want to target rub lines or scrapes.
As hunters, we tend to associate rubs and scrapes as a simultaneous occurrence. However, the varying levels of photoluminescence observed in both rubs and scrapes during specific windows of the rut suggest that hunters might want to focus on one or the other, depending on the time of season. Even if this research doesn’t help you kill a big buck, it shows another reason why deer are so cool.
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