Back at the end of December I posted some images of a bachelor group of Whitetail deer that showed up after the heavy snowstorm. One of the bucks was fairly impressive gentleman as you can see below.

Well, I thought you might like to see what he looks like now after his makeover. Not quite as impressive is he????

I’m guessing that life is probably a bit more comfortable without the antlers. Now he doesn’t have to deal with them catching on everything in the woods. Antlers are interesting subjects in their own right. They grow, fall off, and then re-grow every year. They are stimulated to begin in early April by photoperiodism, which triggers hormonal changes. Until early Fall they are composed of living tissue and are very sensitive to the touch. If the antler is damaged before it hardens in the fall it will grow back that way every year for the rest of the deer’s life. In early September the living tissue is replaced by minerals and the antlers harden into what you normally see in pictures. You can see in the image below the Pedicle where the antler begins growth every year. It’s that round spot right above the eye. During peak growth periods the antlers can grow an inch a day!

And those are today’s fun facts!!! Hope you enjoy them!