Male deer, or bucks, have some of the fastest-growing tissues in the animal kingdom. Their antlers can grow rapidly during spring and early summer while covered in velvet, a soft skin that supplies nutrients.
By late August, most bucks have developed the majority of their antler size for the year. During this period, their focus shifts from growth to hardening and mineralization of the antlers.
Although the velvet still supplies nutrients, decreasing daylight and rising testosterone levels cause blood flow to the velvet to decline. This process leads to bucks shedding their velvet, often by rubbing their antlers on trees and shrubs, a behavior seen in preparation for the rut.
Photographer Rick Small captured images of this process, highlighting the natural cycle of antler development in deer.
