These are my first shots ever of a whitetail buck in the velvet stage. He was a mature 8 pointer, well on his way to growing a really nice rack for the ladies to admire.
Rack Facts: During mid-spring, increased daylight triggers a gland at the base of a deer's skull to produce a fleshy, bulb type growth. Antlers start as living tissue. They are soft, consisting of veins and arteries that carry blood to the tissue for continued growth. During the summer, the buck is rarely seen. He restricts his movements, so that he minimizes risk of damage to his rack development. In late August/Sept., the arteries and veins constrict (from rising testosterone levels) allowing the velvet to dry. They begin to rub off the dried velvet, revealing the final bony structure and enter into their rut in Oct./Nov.
I had not heard of the velvet stage, very cool. Thanks for appreciating natures stages and passing it along to your viewers.
ReplyDeleteI am so ready for the hunting season. Everytime I drive to work I see deer on the side of the road and it makes me go nuts!
ReplyDeleteHunting Forums