Velvet Peeling off antlers
Each year the antlers of a white-tailed deer fall off and regrow. This time of year (early to mid September) the outer layer of skin and hair called 'velvet', will peel from the now hardened antler. It will appear bloody but research seems to indicate this is not a painful process for the deer because the nerve endings have turned off with the calcification process.
For years I have spent a lot of time trying to witness this amazing event with no luck. Things changed this year. What makes this such a rare experience is the very small time frame when this actually happens. From my reading it seems that this event happens in 10-24 hours until all the velvet is totally peeled off. Many times the deer will eat the skin for reasons from nutritional value, to cleaning up its own scent to help avoid predators.
