As we get into the dead of winter, the minds of bucks turn from the rut to pure survival. While they’re not going to be battling over does anymore, they might still spar lightly with one another, especially if some food is available and snow is on the ground. And once a buck’s antlers start loosening, it’s a prime opportunity for them to pop off an antler. Such is the case with this video out of Maine. Every year, the YouTube Channel Brownville’s Food Pantry for Deer broadcasts its feeders live 24/7.
These feeders are often visited by some big bucks; and every so often, if you’re lucky, you might get to see one dropping an antler in real time. That’s just what the cameras caught on Christmas Day when two bucks squared off at one of the feeders. One of these bucks has already dropped one side when they decide to start lightly sparring. Only seconds after they begin, the smaller buck’s right antler suddenly pops off and falls under the feeder. The younger buck is apparently startled and slinks back almost in shame of what just happened.
No matter how many times we see one of these deer shedding videos, it always fascinates us. It’s just interesting to watch the animal’s reaction after losing the antler. Whenever they give a surprised reaction, it seems the buck had no idea the antler was about to come off. On that same note, we’ve also seen videos where it seemed obvious the animal knew the antler was close to coming off just before it happened.
What’s interesting about this video is the way the buck walked off. It seems as if he feels he was off balance from the weird way he walked and held his head. The feeling must pass quickly, as the second buck at the feeder is also missing a side and showed no signs anything was wrong. We wish more antlers were this easy to find and were accompanied with video of them being lost. Talk about a cool thing to capture on video!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram. For original videos, check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
READ MORE: BUCK SHEDS BOTH ANTLERS SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH A MIGHTY HEAD SHAKE
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