Have any of you seen antler growth like this? Is that due to an injury, or genetics? I've never seen anything like it before.
Thanks!
Saw one similar, but smaller and was told that it resulted from injury.
My SIL shot one once that looked like two fists and knuckles.
Very likely an injury to either the antler pedicle or the left leg. For some strange reason when a buck experiences a leg injury like maybe tangling with a car out on the road, the antler on the other side will grow misshapen.
Yes, Leg injuries are a cause of misshapen antlers. That drastic droop, however, is probably due to a damaged pedicle.
Agreed. Injuries to the right side rear, affect the left side growth, and injuries to the left side rear affect the right side growth. Size and points have more to do with the available nutrition, and 1 minute is most likely correct on the cause of the deformation.
As a side note, there is no truth to the "once a spike, always a spike" idea either. The same animal, under lab conditions, will produce much differently due to nutrition.