joeybari Report post Posted July 28, 2009 is there any scientific prof to all this or is it all he said she said sorry about the skepticism Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soazarcher Report post Posted July 28, 2009 Cactus bucks are real and they do not shed there velvet. Obviously, they damage it over the years, but it is alive and growing 365 days a year, thus, the bumby, interesting antler configuration. The buck in the pic is hardhorned and just a crazy non-typical, he does have some velvet remnant, but they are dead and peeling, Like half the bucks killed on the october hunt. Maybe Jim or Amanda can straighten us out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CRB Report post Posted July 28, 2009 Cactus bucks are real and they do not shed there velvet. Obviously, they damage it over the years, but it is alive and growing 365 days a year, thus, the bumby, interesting antler configuration. The buck in the pic is hardhorned and just a crazy non-typical, he does have some velvet remnant, but they are dead and peeling, Like half the bucks killed on the october hunt. Maybe Jim or Amanda can straighten us out. I am no bioligist but I believe some cactus bucks do shed their velvet and even their antlers just not on a routine basis like most deer some bucks may shed their antlers every coulple years others will hold them and continue growing in full velvet having the velvet literally hang off of there horns. I've seen cactus buck sheds and the antler is very light weight with a extremely concave pedicle. some are narly looking and others I've seen are fairly normal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nighthawk Report post Posted July 29, 2009 thanks for all the info.... Just didnt know if they were around... Hopefully one day i can have a pic to show the proof>>>> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
creed_az_88 Report post Posted July 30, 2009 i believe amanda has info on this on the home page of this site. click on coues biology and then onto life stages. She has a picture of a mule deer cactus buck(hard-horned). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soazarcher Report post Posted July 30, 2009 Quote from under mule deer picture in life cycles/biology page: "This buck never shed his antlers and the antlers stayed covered in velvet (velvet has been removed in photo above)." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Az Hunter Report post Posted July 30, 2009 I am no bioligist but I believe some cactus bucks do shed their velvet and even their antlers just not on a routine basis like most deer some bucks may shed their antlers every coulple years others will hold them and continue growing in full velvet having the velvet literally hang off of there horns. I've seen cactus buck sheds and the antler is very light weight with a extremely concave pedicle. some are narly looking and others I've seen are fairly normal I can imagine since a buck turned into a cactus buck do to an accident or birth defect or whatever non-normal event that not all cactus bucks are the same. I am no expert but I would imagine that it depends on the extent of the defect. Maybe some lose antlers every few years, maybe some not at all. I bet if you examined the antlers on different Cactus Bucks that they are all a little different. The one I saw in a magazine didn't look like the one Amanda posted on the web site biology page. It looked more like a combination of moldy/octopus tentacle texture. Very odd. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexjh1 Report post Posted August 1, 2009 I had some questions relating to Couse feeding and waterning habits. Amanda posted a link for me which I had read through. There is a picture and a quick description of a "cactus" buck. Take a look if you are interested. here is a link to the life stages page which describes breeding timing and other related biology info. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/coues_biology/life_stages.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexjh1 Report post Posted August 1, 2009 Amanda posted some good information for me on couse biology and listed the link below for this website. It covers the "Cactus" couse briefly. here is a link to the life stages page which describes breeding timing and other related biology info. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/coues_biology/life_stages.htm Alex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites