Trauma‐induced malformed antler development in male white‐tailed deer
ABSTRACT Though normal antlers are branched and bilaterally symmetrical, male white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) sometimes develop malformed antlers because of various reasons. As management for antler quality has grown more popular in recent years, there has been concern that spike‐on‐one‐s...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2013-12-01
|
| Series: | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.353 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | ABSTRACT Though normal antlers are branched and bilaterally symmetrical, male white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) sometimes develop malformed antlers because of various reasons. As management for antler quality has grown more popular in recent years, there has been concern that spike‐on‐one‐side (SOOS) antler configuration has a genetic cause. We hypothesized that the majority of SOOS antlers are the artifact of injuries to the antlerogenic periosteum region. We collected 71 SOOS specimens over 2 hunting seasons (2010–2011 and 2011–2012) in Alabama, USA, and identified probable cause for malformed antler development. We confidently assigned cause to 62% of specimens, and frequency of skull and/or pedicle trauma increased with age classes (yearling, 2.5‐yr‐old, and ≥3.5‐yr‐old M). It was difficult to determine the reason that yearling males developed SOOS antler traits (30%), but ease of prescription increased with male age (76% for ≥3.5‐yr‐old M). Based on the physiology of skull and/or pedicle versus skeletal injuries, we recommended different culling strategies for yearling versus adult male white‐tailed deer according to management objectives. © 2013 The Wildlife Society. © The Wildlife Society, 2013 |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2328-5540 |