When Bucks Wear a Velvet Crown

Antlers are a buck's crowning glory. Most researchers agree that antlers evolved as a weapon to gain dominance over other bucks during the breeding season.

Antlers, composed of bone, are the fastest-growing tissue in the animal kingdom. They grow an average of 1 to 2 inches per week during the spring and summer. Growing antlers are covered with velvet, which contains blood vessels and nerve endings. They are sensitive to touch. A buck can deform his soft, developing rack if he is not careful. The size and shape of the antlers depends on the age, nutrition and genetics of the male.

Once antlers reach full growth and mineralize in late summer, the velvet starts to peel. Bucks rub it off in a day or two. Bucks wear hard, polished racks throughout fall and early winter. After the breeding season, bucks shed their antlers (January through March, depending on region). A new set of antlers then begins to grow in their place.

Today's photo by WPC President Larry Schweiger.

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