Rut (mammalian Reproduction)

Rut (mammalian Reproduction)

The rut is the mating season of ruminant animals such as deer, sheep, elk, moose, caribou, ibex, goats, pronghorn and Asian and African antelope.

During the rut (also known as the rutting period, and in sheep sometimes as tupping), males often rub their antlers or horns on trees or shrubs, fight with each other, wallow in mud or dust, and herd estrus females together.

The rut in many species is triggered by a shortening of the length of daylight hours each day. The timing of the rut for different species depends on the length of their gestation period (length of pregnancy), usually occurring so the young are born in the spring, shortly after new green growth has appeared (which provides food for the females, allowing them to provide milk for the young), and when the temperatures are warm enough that the young will not die of hypothermia.