One of my readers asked me about the growth of deer antlers. Thank you to Wanderlust Gene for asking this question, as it also made me wonder about how a deer antler grows.
Spending a few days in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, I was fortunate enough to have been able to capture several bucks at varying ages. These deer are so accustomed to tourists that they calmly graze nearby while the paparazzi take their pictures.
For the many deer hunters out in the world, there are Deer Antler Age Charts available to determine the age of a buck. Deer antler growth begins shortly after birth and is known to be one of the fastest growing tissues known to man. Sometimes growing up to 1/2 inch per day during peak development, the growth of the antlers do rely on the quality of nutrition available.
Shortly after birth, the antlers begin to grow as little nubs. The young buck above is about four months old and his antler stubs are covered with velvet which eventually is rubbed off.
As the young buck begins to grow, so do their antlers. These two young bucks were a little frisky and skittish as the winds were blowing with 20-30 mph gusts on a fresh morning. This deer with the “devil’s horns” is considered to be a yearling due to the spiky nature of his horns.
His bigger brother was more regal and kept a better distance from me. At this point, hunters begin referring to the deer by the number of points on their antlers. This deer would be considered a “6-pointer” and is about two years old.
Along the Shenandoah Valley there are concerns of Chronic Wasting Disease. Worried that the mountain deer might be cavorting with the valley deer, several deer were tagged and had collars with radio transmitters attached. This way park wildlife management can monitor the movements of the deer. After being caught, tested and tagged, these deer will be observed for several months to help establish a wildlife management plan to keep the mountain deer healthy.
This deer is between three to five years of age.
But this is the Granddaddy of them all. This old buck was walking around the road near the cabins of Big Meadows. Seeing the tourists, he stopped and posed and preened for the cameras. Just as Madonna taught him to “Vogue.” Once he decided that enough of his time was given to the tourists, he wandered off in search of a pretty doe. This large buck is well over five years old which is uncommon as many deer don’t survive after the age of five.
I’ve got to admit, I absolutely love deer and can’t get enough of them. Big Meadows is full of deer that are accustomed to visitors. A wonderful opportunity to truly get close to nature.
Categories: Foot Prints, Maryland Area Hikes, Nature, Shenandoah
Emily Carter ~ Nature as Art 
Wonderful, wonderful Photos, compliments Orofiorentino from Italy
Thank you so very much ! You are too kind.
Terrific shots of these beautiful animals! The “paparazzi”…heh heh, that’s great! 😆
Phil it was too funny ! When a deer shows up, the tourists come out of the woodwork in droves with their cameras and line up taking pictures.
Well, that’s fantastic to know Bella – thanks so much for the follow through, and all those extra beautiful pictures. I was so sad to learn that most deer don’t live past five – seems such a young age for such a large animal. I wonder if that’s the same for all species/locations? (No, you don’t need to do another supplemental!!!) 🙂
LOL ! My pleasure. Gave me a great idea for a post and I learned something as well. I think due to hunting and disease, the deer succumb. They are protected in Shenandoah and have few predators so can live longer than usual.
So many wonders in the world to learn about – thanks for teaching me about the deer’s antlers 🙂
Interesting story – particularly liked the first photo best (despite the non-existent antlers) simply because of the beautiful eyes and lovely texture and colour of the fur.
Hi Jura ! So wonderful to see you ! Thank you so much for your kind comments. I do love the first one best also. He was about 10 feet away from me.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos. These are such beautiful animals. I found this link to your blog on the Humbled Pie blog.
Thank you so much Ramey, and what a pleasure to meet you ! That’s wonderful that you tracked me down from Humbled Pie’s blog, what a great place. I’m off to visit yours now. Bella
What a fascinating post! With stunning photos to boot! I think that first one is particularly special too :-)Thank you for stopping by my blog and leading me to this.
Such GORGEOUS animals, and how beautifully you’ve honored them!! So fascinating. I just adore them….
These pictures are gorgeous!!
Thank you so much ! I’ve been practicing but such a perfectionist. 🙂