I think we can all pretty much agree that whitetail deer are special creatures. It doesn’t matter when or where we might see one — standing alone or with other deer in a greened-up field, slinking silently through the shadows of a quiet forest, or darting across the road — the sight of a whitetail deer, and most especially a buck, touches some central but primal part of our soul that’s simply unexplainable. Whether you’re a hunter looking at a buck that made it through hunting season and now working his way through winter, or a nature enthusiast just trying to bring a part of the world they love a little closer, the bottom line is this: seeing a white-tailed buck is special, and has many rewards for those who love them and enjoy spending time in their woods.

And there’s an amazing phenomenon that occurs every year, when a whitetail buck starts shedding, and then grows back, a new set of antlers. Many of us know a little about the science that causes this amazing event to happen each year. But then a picture, that will remain unidentified, shows up on a Massachusetts trail cam, like the one accompanying this column, and suddenly we’re scratching our heads and the guesswork starts all over again. We’ve got to know: “how can a buck like this still have a set of antlers like that, standing upright and healthy looking, in mid-February?” Well, that question prompted a call to MassWildlife biologist and friend Dave Scarpitti, who put me in touch with their deer and moose biologist, Martin Feehan, who then took the time to illuminate me to the mystery of a buck, like the one pictured, still sporting a large set of antlers in mid-February. But first, a few things that all of us most likely know.

While whitetail deer are not the only animals with antlers in North America, they are certainly the most widespread and successful species of the deer family. Adult male whitetail deer, also known as bucks, sport a pair of antlers which they shed and regrow in a yearly cycle. The amount of daylight can contribute to when a buck will start growing, and later, shedding their antlers. Older bucks can grow as much as two inches of antler each week in the summer, with a soft velvet layer that coats the antlers to protect them while supplying them with blood to help them grow during the growing cycle.

By mid-autumn, the buck’s testosterone levels rise, which causes his antlers to harden. That makes the velvet dry out and start to peel away. By now, the antlers have grown about as large as they’re going to get. They’re tough, hardened, and ready for mating season, and if successful he’ll pass on his genes to future generations. But Feehan explains it better.

“As the breeding season continues and the rut sets-in, this usually signals the beginning of the shedding process due to a loss of testosterone with bucks seeking does, daily at times, during the ruts peak,” he explained. “As the rut moves toward its finale in late winter, and the length of daylight shortens, a buck’s testosterone levels will decrease even more. And with this decrease comes a deterioration of the connection between the antler and the antlers base that attaches the antler to the skull. The antlers eventually fall off, or shed, as the connection weakens.”

“But Martin,” I asked, “how soon will it weaken enough for the antlers to fall off?”

“That depends,” he offered. “As the process of shedding progresses into December and January, partially as a result of the length of daylight, the exact period that a buck loses his antlers varies based on the mildness of the winter and the nutrition level of his food source.”

“For example, if the winter is unusually mild, like this year, and nutrition of the buck’s food source is high — like it’s apt to be due to a lack of snow — pictures like the one featured here are not at all unusual,” Feehan continued. “And even though this buck still carries a very large rack, I’ve been receiving other pictures from all over the state, showing small and large racks that bucks are still carrying well into February. It’s a direct result, I believe, of a combination of the conditions already mentioned, allowing the antlers to stay attached longer.”

And that’s information coming from a guy who knows exactly what he’s talking about.

All that said, bucks that are still carrying antlers this late will most likely start losing them very soon, but you can’t really predict when that’ll happen in a year like this. And if they’re lucky, and survive what’s left of the winter, their whole “antler growth process” will be starting over again very soon.

Joe Judd is a lifelong hunter and sportsman. He is an outdoor writer, seminar speaker, member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association, and a 2019 inductee into the N.E. Turkey Hunting Hall of Fame. Joe is also on the Quaker Boy Game Calls and Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Pro-Staff.]]>