The Challenge

THE CHALLENGE

By

David McClain

The thick, green forest lay still and quiet, soaking in the first weak light of the sun as it slowly chased away the pre-dawn darkness. It was that magical time between the shadows of the night and the full light of day. A time of retreat and rest for the nocturnal hunters such as the owl, the hawk, and the bobcat. A time of awakening for the creatures of the light, the squirrels and field mice, the small birds that flitted from tree to tree joining their voices in an ever expanding song of light and warmth.

At the edge of the forest where the loblolly pine, the pin-oak, and the sweet-gum trees halt; there lies a large expanse of open field. Running between these two very different environments, is a small stream that meanders along the edge of the forest, as if some careless giant of legend, had dragged his axe behind him carving a trench into the soft earth, forming a path for the water.

It was here, between the safety of the forest and the uncertainty of the open expanse of the great meadow, that Tamba, the young White-tailed buck was drawn for the first time.

Tamba was well into his second year and for the past month the young buck had felt a strong stirring within him. This was the rutting season and for the first time, Tamba found himself subject to the powerful urge to mate.

Being young, Tamba found himself more or less confused most of the time. For instance, on this particular morning the young buck was drawn to this place on the edge of the forest. It was the scent of a young doe that had drawn him to this spot where he now stood racked by indecision. On the one hand he felt compelled to follow the doe’s scent trail, but on the other hand, he was not entirely clear as to why he was doing that.

Tamba halted just within the protective screen of trees and brush at the edge of the forest and tested the air with his delicate nose. The scent of the doe led across the stream and out into the open field. With a jerk, Tamba stamped his right front hoof into the soft, leaf-covered floor of the forest in agitation. Then he emitted a short, sharp bark. It didn’t help at all. The scent still tugged at his core, urging him onward, beckoning him to cross the stream and follow into the unwelcome open spaces of the field.

Even though very young, Tamba already cut a fairly impressive figure. Weighing over one hundred and twenty pounds he was larger than nearly all the other young bucks his age. Though his neck lacked the girth of the true giants of his breed, he showed every sign of one day, reaching legendary proportions.

Tamba stood for a moment testing the wind. Bowing to the powerful new urge, he stepped out of the covering of the forest and bounded across the small stream. He landed in the open ground of the field and froze. Only his ears moved as they strained in every direction to pick up the faintest hint of danger. Finally, when he was sure of his safety, he set off at a brisk trot across the field.

His destination was a small island of trees standing alone and surrounded by the grass of the meadow. The trees, a pair of young sweet-gums and three medium sized pines formed a refuge roughly a hundred feet long and fifty feet wide in which an animal the size of a deer could stand unobserved and in relative safety. Tamba arrived at the trees and entered at once into their safe covering.

The doe had been here. Tamba found the spot where she had marked the ground with her urine before passing on her way. Gingerly Tamba lowered his nose and sniffed the doe’s markings. Then with a snort and a toss of his head, the young buck began to paw the ground that held the other deer’s scent. He marked the same spot with his own urine then for good measure he violently hooked the surrounding brush with his small rack of antlers. Now any other deer which happened to pass this way would know instantly that this ground, and the doe that had passed this way, was the property of Tamba of the tall Pines, and no other!

With some misgivings Tamba made his way once more into the open field, urged on by the sent of the doe. His quick, ground-eating trot carried him across the second half of the meadow in short order, and soon he found himself once again entering the forest.

As he reentered the cover of the forest, a new and disturbing scent assaulted his nose. This was the smell of pure power, the smell of a dominant buck. Tamba knew the buck was somewhere close, and by the smell, he seemed to be trailing the same doe as Tamba.

Tamba shook his head and let out a bleat of anger as he increased his speed. Now it was of the utmost importance that he find the doe quickly. For the first time in his young life Tamba felt the urge to challenge the dominant buck to combat!

Twisting and turning, Tamba picked his way through the tangle of underbrush and fallen logs of the forest. He noticed, as he ran, that the scent of the doe was not only becoming stronger, but it was starting to mix with that of the older buck. Tamba suddenly came upon a pin-oak flat. The ground under the trees was blanketed with acorns, which was a favorite of the deer of these woods. It was here, at the edge of the pin-oak trees, that Tamba found the young doe that he had sought most of the day.

She was a beautiful young creature with a long neck and soft tan hair. Her large, black eyes glistened as she stared behind her intently. She had spotted Tamba and her large ears flicked in his direction curiously.

Tamba stepped forward under the nearest tree, and stamped his front hoof with some authority to let the doe know his intentions were not altogether honorable! It was only after the doe turned in his direction and stared at him with those placid eyes that Tamba became aware of another presence close by.

With a thunderous stomp that seemed to shake the ground, a true monster of a buck stepped from behind a screen of trees. With an angry snort, the huge beast shook his head then lowered his giant rack of deadly antlers to a point where they almost touched the ground. First with his left front hoof, then with his right, he pawed the soft, loamy soil sending large gouts of it flying skyward. Then, slowly, menacingly the huge buck raised his head and stared directly into the eyes of the younger buck.

In most cases this display of brute power and force would be enough to weaken the resolve of most young bucks who were feeling their oats for the first time. But as the older buck could see, this youngster showed no signs of relenting. Indeed, the upstart had even advanced closer to the doe!

The old forest king could see that Tamba was going to take a bit more persuasion than was normally necessary for one of his puny size. With slow precise steps, the old buck advanced upon the youngster. The big buck kept his horns lowered so that Tamba was faced with the threat of the sharp points and must surely retreat.

The older buck failed, at this point, to take into account the follies of youth. That strong spirit that enables young creatures of all kinds to feel themselves invincible when faced with overpowering odds as was Tamba.

The younger deer promptly charged the older buck that was easily twice his size. The old buck met Tamba’s charge head on, and the resultant crash could be heard for a mile in any direction.

Tamba was tossed backward by the force of the collision and had to scramble to keep from falling flat on his face. The old buck bore in upon Tamba not giving him a chance to recover. This rack, twelve perfect points to Tamba’s five, raked across the young bucks flank opening long gashes that began to bleed freely.

Tamba gave ground before the furious onslaught while desperately hooking with his smaller horns. By a stroke of sheer luck one of Tamba’s small horns caught the old buck flush on the nose as he bore into Tamba, causing him to pause his attack and shake his head painfully. This gave Tamba a chance to regroup and consider his next move.

Tamba did not have nearly enough time to form an adequate defense for the bigger buck was on him in a flash. This time he did not meet the big buck head on, rather, he circled him watching intently for an opening. There was no opening and soon Tamba was picking himself up off the ground.

It was about this time, that it suddenly dawned on Tamba, that this mating business was not all it was cracked up to be. After he picked himself off the ground for the third time, he came to the conclusion that if this big brute wanted to play house with this particular sweet thing, then who was he to interfere!

Tamba had just begun to brace himself for yet another attack by the enraged old buck, when his sensitive ears picked up the sound of an intruder upon the scene. It was another buck. This one was only slightly smaller than Tamba’s advisary. The new arrival went directly to the side of the young doe and completely ignored the two embattled bucks.

After a brief get-acquainted nuzzle, the new buck and the doe disappeared further into the forest side by side.

The old buck broke off his attack of Tamba to stare perplexed at the disappearing rumps of his erstwhile girlfriend and her new lover.

Tamba, discovering that his enemy was ignoring him, fled a fast retreat into the deep cover of the forest. If that was what mating was all about, Tamba thought as he left the scene of the battle, then the old buck was welcome to it! Who needs those kinds of worries? Certainly not Tamba of the Tall Pines.

Not yet anyway!!

THE END