Here’s a wary young white-tailed buck yesterday before the camera click.
After the click, I got one more decent shot and then a good view of buck butt; here’s the decent view:
This buck is likely finished growing his antlers and soon will be shedding that velvet covering to reveal the hard bone. State wildlife reports document that Maine bucks usually begin growing antlers in April. The growing bones are encased within the velvety skin tissue and blood vessels that nurture them.
The velvet is shed when growth is complete in late August and September. The hardened, polished antlers remain until they’re shed sometime in late December through early March, depending on conditions. A buck’s first true antlers usually appear at the end of his first year, but the nubbin bases for these bones usually appear on male fawns by one month of age, according to the reports.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on September 1, 2023.)