Picking a fight with a post

[u/Psychological-Leg717]

Had a blast watching this enormous red deer stag scratching its head on a wooden post.

Shots taken by me with Nikon Z8, 180-600mm

[u/saracenraider]

I saw this a few weeks ago but with elk. I believe they do it to practice their fighting skills ahead of the rut

[u/Psychological-Leg717 → u/saracenraider]

Well many of the trees there are missing the bark.. these guys are a menace 😄

[u/OutdoorAndy_]

Looks like it's shedding velvet. Could be just scratching an itch.

[u/OutdoorAndy_ → u/OutdoorAndy_]

Or it's antlers are very gnarly and knobby...hard for me to tell on my phone 🤷

[u/Psychological-Leg717 → u/OutdoorAndy_]

He stayed there a good long while, going at it