Antelope fighting in June?

[TexanSam]

While driving home from an unsuccessful day hunt for spring bear, on a dirt road near Augusta I came across these two antelope bucks that did not seem to care about my presence, nor get out of the road.

At first I thought they were stuck together somehow, so I got out of the pickup to see if there was something I could do to help (probably not my smartest thought), but as I approached them, the separated horns for about half of a second to look at me, and without moving nor showing any regard for my presence, immediately continued having a knock down, drag out fight for about 15 or so minutes before I decided to keep driving onward.

Is this common for these things to fight this time of year? Did the cool front coming in potentially mess with their internal calendars? Or are they just establishing some sort of hierarchy?

 

[EastTNHunter]

That’s cool

 

[MaddH]

Seen a couple of bucks fighting last weekend here in Nevada. They kept after it for quite awhile

 

[Bowmannate2000]

Maybe territorial fight?

 

[Straight Arrow]

Antelope jousting seems pretty common to me, at least in Montana. It seems this time of year they don't really need a reason ... they just enjoy it.

 

[Jonas]

What you saw isn’t all that unusual. While the major rut is still months away, antelope bucks will spar and establish dominance well before breeding season. These fights are often about hierarchy, territory, and figuring out who’s higher on the pecking order long before does become the focus.
The fact that they largely ignored your presence isn’t too surprising either. When two mature bucks are fully engaged in a fight, they can become remarkably focused on each other. I’ve seen deer, elk, and antelope do the same thing.I doubt the cool front had much to do with it. More likely, you happened to catch two bucks sorting things out the old-fashioned way. The timing may seem odd, but antelope don’t reserve all their sparring for the rut. Sometimes they’re just reminding each other who’s boss.