Ask The Biologist

Have you ever seen ticks on a velvet buck’s antlers?

QUESTION: How come when you're looking at dear you see ticks on the back of their ears, their face and their neck but never on velvet antlers? You would think with all that blood in the antlers they would be covered up. — Duane F.

ANSWER: That’s a good question, and my investigation found varying answers. One biologist reported having never seen ticks on velvet antlers and suggested it might be the result of antlers secreting substances that could have a repellent effect.

Another source I found showed photos of two different bucks from the same area, one with ticks on its velvet antler and one without. The source noted that the deer with ticks also had more ticks on its head and body, and exhibited an injury that could have diminished its health, and therefore its ability to repel or withstand parasites. Given that information, my guess is that the deer you see are simply very healthy.

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