in stags rutting behavior includes urine sniffing, anogenital sniffing, wallowing, and antler adorning. mating behavior includes mounting and copulating. communication behavior includes the spraying of urine and preorbital gland marking. the stags generally begin to rut before any signs of female sexual behavior. the reason to this is to establish a social rank among the stags. for père david's deer the stag initiates the breeding season with the rutting.