HOWARD MARSH METROPARK – A buck peers through a thick stand of cattails along Maumee Bay. He is already sporting a nice set of velveted antlers, highlighted in the sunlight of a recent summer evening.
Now is the time for male whitetail deer to show the growth of antlers they’ll need this fall as they spar with other males during the rut, or mating season. The velvet protects and nourishes the antlers while they grow, drying up in the fall when the job is done. When it’s dry, the bucks rub the velvet off, revealing the bone-hard antlers.
