January 24, 2010 - Antler Shed

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

From now through the end of winter, white-tailed deer bucks shed their antlers. Antlers, which bucks use to attract females or challenge male competitors during the fall rut, are no longer needed. Younger deer tend to keep their antlers longer than older animals. Bucks in top physical condition usually drop their antlers earlier than those less fit. The process to shed antlers can take two to three weeks to complete. Rarely does a matching set of antlers drop off at the same time. Once shed, the antlers don’t last more than a year in the wild. Rodents and other animals gnaw on them to get the calcium that isn’t readily available in their winter diets. By summer, not much of the antler is left. Bucks will grow antlers over a two- to four-month period in time for the fall rut.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.