Free: Contests & Raffles.
That's known as a cactus buck. To learn more: http://www.kingsoutdoorworld.com/feature/cactus-bucks.shtml
Ive seen some minor deviations but Id shoot that buck just because of how odd it is... cool pics
I too wounder if it is female??
Velvet is an extension of skin that covers the growing antlers. Throughout the growing period, blood carries nutrients to the antlers via the velvet. Mineralization of antlers and a decrease of blood supply due to rising testosterone levels trigger velvet shedding. Testosterone is the hormone that dominates antler growth. In several studies, testosterone was artificially injected into deer during the antler-growing stage. The bucks reacted to the testosterone by shedding the velvet from the antlers before the blood supply had stopped. Have you ever noticed the last bucks to shed their velvet are the yearling bucks and the regressed old-aged bucks? Now you know why, they produce less testosterone than bucks in their prime. So what do testosterone levels have to do with cactus bucks? Well, everything. In most cactus buck documentations, a buck had the misfortune to turn “himself” into an “it.” The buck’s testes, the major testosterone producer, may have been left on a barbwire fence line or seriously injured in any number of ways. These castrations continuously result in “cactus” formation antlers with permanent velvet.
If a young fawn is castrated within the first few months, that deer will not develop pedicles and therefore never develop antlers. Older fawns that have been castrated have been documented of growing a permanent, small, knob-like mass of velvet. If an adult buck is castrated during antler growth and in the velvet, the lack of testosterone allows the velvet antlers to continue growing, omitting the velvet shedding stage and total ossification of antler. These antlers may go on growing for a long period of time creating large cactus racks. These antlers will not shed in the spring. However, it has been reported that in freezing climates the moisture enveloped inside these velvet-covered antlers freezes and parts of the antlers break off. I believe this is why we see so many large cactus bucks in mild weather areas. The antlers are able to continue growing and growing without breaking.
