Camera Critters: Antler Growth Continues

I hope to follow the growth of two whitetail bucks during this spring and summer, but it seemed for a time that the project may have come to a screeching halt as I last saw the bucks on Monday evening.  Up until that time they were seen almost every morning and evening.  While few deer are killed by poachers at this time of year, it is possible for the animals to move several miles from their home range and not return.  Since one of the bucks is a three year old, the likelihood that he will leave is declining as most disperse in their first autumn as a rack buck or the following spring.

Over the years I have seen two 2year olds, vanish suddenly from mid-May to early June, so I was not ruling out the possibility that this had happened, and I was starting to feel a sense of loss, but then last evening they returned to the food plot and I was able to photograph the same buck that was featured last week.

2 year old-exactly one week later

Notice how the points are now clearly defined. For those who are technically minded, I used the 70-200mmf2.8L IS and the Canon 7D for today's deer photos.

One Week Later- The Points Are Plainly Visible

I had to post a photograph of another species to prove that I do photograph something besides deer, turkeys, and elk, so here is a chipmunk from this morning's photo shoot.

Chipmunk

In this case I used the Canon 7D with the 500mmF4 IS.  As light conditions were very low, this was taken at ISO 800-1/100 sec. f4.5.

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Camera Critters: A Young Buck Grows Antlers

Here in Pennsylvania, whitetail buck's antler growth accelerates rapidly in early May .  This is the same animal that was posted for Camera Critters last week.

Antler Growth Accelerates In May

Look carefully at the close-up shot of the left antler in the following photograph and note how the antler is starting to fork(the slight dip in the center indicates that the antler will grow in each direction from that divide-one will be the main beam the other the brow point).  It will be interesting to see how soon this becomes a well defined point.  This buck should make at least a six-point and will likely grow eight or more points.

A Point Develops

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Camera Critters: The Antlers Develop

While I have seen one fawn so far, most of the local whitetail does have either not given birth yet, or are hiding in the woodlands and tall grass. Rainy weather has also made it more difficult to see deer of any type.

June-5th: Still Pregnant

While the does are preparing to give birth, the larger bucks' antlers are growing quite rapidly. The following photographs depict how much one particular buck has increased in size in two weeks.

May 24th


June 7th

This buck is a two year old and should be quite impressive by the first of July. Antler size is determined by genetics, quality of feed, and the age of the deer. Our area of Pennsylvania is not known for exceptionally large bucks so do not expect to see photographs of huge, exceptional whitetails on this blog. These animals are more typical of what Pennsylvania actually produces, than of those that grace the pages of national hunting magazines. In many cases these deer are pen-raised deer that are bred for maximum genetic potential, and fed with food formulated to produce maximum body and rack mass.

Pennsylvania traditionally managed its' whitetail herds so that maximum hunting pressure was focused on the males resulting in very few living to maturity. The state currently has antler restrictions, which enables many bucks to survive somewhat longer, but few survive the season that they reach the legal threshold. In some areas of the state an animal must have three points on one antler to be legal game, while in other areas, four is the magic number.

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