JACKSON, Wyo. — It’s antler growing season for moose and other members of the deer family like mule deer, elk and white-tailed deer in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
On Aug. 27, Buckrail’s photographer Nick Sulzer spotted a mule deer buck in all its glory, donning a set of velvet antlers. The buck was standing in an area of sagebrush and trees near Kelly in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP).
According to GTNP, a mule deer’s antlers will grow from April or May until August. Beginning as small bumps called pedicles on each side of the forehead, the antlers enlarge until they are knobs. The knobs change into antlers and grow until late August.
Fuzzy velvet covers a buck’s antlers until the bony rack is full grown. According to Yellowstone National Park, the velvet is actually a network of veins, feeding blood to grow the flat palmate antlers.
This buck, standing amongst red, yellow and brown foliage, will shed his velvet this fall, once the antlers are fully mineralized and ready for the rut (breeding season).
Teton Science School wrote on its website that mule deer rub their antlers on trees or rocks to remove the velvety skin, and to leave behind a scent indicating their presence and territory. Bucks will then use their hardened antlers for display and to fight other males for mates. After the breeding season ends in late fall or winter, the antlers are shed, and new ones begin to grow the following spring.
