The one they call the ghost

This is a trail camera photo of a whitetail deer buck in velvet. This deer is probably between five and seven years old. Where he lives, I do not have the liberty of saying.

Bucks drop their antlers each year during winter and grow new ones back the following spring and summer. The velvet is thin and fuzzy. Within the velvet are blood veins that carry nutrients to the growing antler/bone structure. The dense fuzzy velvet also provides an element of protection from blood-sucking insects.

In late summer and early autumn the antlers stop growing and the velvet withers and dies. The buck will rub his antlers on the trunks of small trees and bushes. Birds have been known to peck away at the dead velvet which is high in nutrients beneficial to the birds.

If you are a hunter, I implore you to be respectful of the animals you hunt, to obey game laws and always get permission before hunting on another person's private property.