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Antlers and their regeneration—a study using hummels, hinds and haviers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

G. A. Lincoln
G. A. Lincoln
Affiliation:
M.R.C. Reproductive Biology Unit, Centre for Reproductive Biology, 37 Chalmers Street, Edinburgh EH3 9EW, Scotland
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Synopsis

The mechanism involved in the control of antler growth was studied in three experiments using red deer living at Reedie Hill Deer Farm in Fife. Scotland. Observations were made on three congenitally polled stags (hummels) captured from the wild, one female red deer (hind) induced to grow antlers by treatment with testosterone, and four castrated stags (havicrs). The overall results support the view that in the stag it is the increase in secretion of testosterone by the testes at puberty which stimulates the initial development of the antler pedicles, and it is the subsequent seasonal cycle in the secretion of testosterone which dictates the seasonal casting and regeneration of the antlers. The high blood levels of testosterone in the autumn cause the calcification and death of the antler tissue, and also prevent the process of rejection of this tissue for the remainder of the breeding season. The dead antlers can thus act as an insensitive fighting weapon when rival stags compete for access to females during the rut. When the testes become fully regressed in spring, it is the withdrawal of testosterone which allows the old antlers to be cast off. and the wound on the surface of the antler pedicles triggers the regeneration of new antlers. In hummel stags which have failed to complete the initial growth of the antler pedicles, it is possible to trigger the development of antler tissue by wounding the rudimentary pedicle, and once this tisue has formed it is cast and regrown annually due to the seasonal evele in the activity of the testes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 82 , Issue 4: Deer, their biology, behaviour and impact , 1984 , pp. 243 - 259
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1984

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