Ask The Biologist

How to Age a Deer by its Teeth

How to Age a Deer by its Teeth

By Bob Humphrey

Question: I was on a guided hunt last fall in Texas and killed a buck that I thought was around 3 years old. My guide stuck his fingers in the deer’s mouth to feel it’s teeth and declared it was 5 years old. Can you offer some tips on how to easily tell a deer’s age after it’s been harvested? — Jamie W.

Answer:  Aging a deer post-mortem is not extremely difficult, although it takes a fair bit more than simply sticking your finger in its mouth. The most common method is looking at wear and replacement of teeth on the bottom jaw. This is typically done after the jaw is removed or the cheek is cut open to expose the teeth. You then look at the degree of wear on the cusps, and the relative amounts dentine (dark) and enamel (white) of certain teeth.

For example, the third premolar (third tooth in from the front) on a yearling has three cusps and will show heavy wear. By age two, this tooth will be replaced with a two-cusped premolar, the lingual (inner) crests of which are sharp and pointed.

On a 3-year-old deer, the lingual crests on the first molar (third tooth from the front) are blunt, and dentine is as wide as, or wider than, the enamel. The back cusp on the third (back) molar forms a concavity. At age 4, the lingual crests on the first molar are almost rounded off, and lingual crests on the second molar are blunt. The dentine is twice as wide as the enamel. The back cusp on the last molar is worn so badly it slopes downward towards the cheek.

Biologists often compare teeth to a chart or other device when using this technique, although with lots of practice you can become proficient enough to do it by eye. The technique is fairly accurate, but managers often send teeth to a lab for verification. In the lab, the teeth are cut in a cross section so the rings, or cementum annuli, are counted like rings on a tree.

Copyright 2024 by Buckmasters, Ltd.

Copyright 2020 by Buckmasters, Ltd