Ask The Biologist

Twisted Tops

Twisted Tops

By Bob Humphrey

It’s difficult to pin down the cause of misshapen racks.

QUESTION: What causes bent-over racks? Is it aggressiveness by this young deer when it starts growing antlers in the spring? A head injury? I have seen five or six like this over the past 10 years. Maybe genetics? How can I tell for sure? My friends and I have been wondering. — Bill L.

ANSWER: Unless you actually see it happen, you can’t tell for sure. All of the things you list are possible. Velvet-covered antlers are living, growing tissue and very susceptible to damage. That is perhaps why bucks are relatively sedentary during the antler growing season.

Malformed antlers are sometimes the result of a previous injury. Perhaps the most well-known example is when a deer suffers and injury to a limb, the antler on the opposite side grows in a non-typical form. Skull injuries from fighting during the rut also can result in abnormal antlers in subsequent years.

From the picture you provided, my best guess is this deer suffered an injury during the growth process, possibly from running into a fence or tree. I say this because it looks as though it had started to grow normally and symmetrically to the other side before it was damaged.

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