Originally posted by Chumster:
Those are impressive bucks but curious. What is the attraction to the tree they seem to keep coming to?
It's OK to be curious. There is a mineral block near that tree. Here in Iowa, it is illegal to hunt over bait (or mineral block) so a month before the bow season starts, I will go out there and remove the block and remove all the soil that has been contaminated by the block and then I will fill the hole with soil brought in from another location. I will even pack some sod over the top of the fresh dirt. It is interesting to note that in the past I have left the trail camera in place after removing the block, and have found that the deer come to the location for a few days and look around and leave; after which the only photos taken are an occasional random deer wandering through on their normal movements. By the time the season opens, the attraction to the site is completely gone. I go though all the work of the trail cam during off season because I enjoy seeing all the wildlife that is out there and I know that once the season starts, I will never see most of those bigger bucks. That is how they grow old, it is amazing how they seem to evaporate only to come back the following spring. I see the some of the same bucks year to year and it is fun to watch how they change though the years.
I've never seen a live badger in Iowa before, without the trail camera I would never have guessed...
Ya gotta love it...