I caught sight of some buck deer contending for some does out in the clearing behind our house. This is probably what you might call the rut for white tail deer. The bucks do a lot of jousting for access to the does. But clearly, the does decide.
We have never caught them mating on film. In fact, the does never display any interest in the bucks as they trot around and fight each other. The only way we know mating eventually happens is when the spotted, frail-looking fawns appear in the spring.
Go Retire Psychiatrist 