GROWTH
RESPIRATION
EXCRETION
White Tailed Deer carry out the life process of growth when they develop antlers yearly. Mainly male White Tailed Deer are subject to growing antlers but there have been occurrences where female WTD have imbalances in their hormones, thus giving them antlers.
Antler growth coincides with the breeding season. The antler developing process first begins at the pedicle, an antler growing base connected to the skull. What commences the hormone cycles responsible for antler growth is the reduction in melatonin production.
At the beginning of the antler growth, the antlers are high in water content and low in dry content (it is composed of 80 percent protein and 20 percent ash). While still growing, the antlers are covered with a living hairlike tissue known as ‘velvet’. It was given this name because the look and feel of the tissue resembles velvet material.
During development, a buck’s antlers can be prone to being injured easily as the antlers are very sensitive and delicate. Cuts or injuries caused to the velvet or the antlers can deform the appearance when it hardens for the mating season, possibly making it difficult to spar with other bucks.
Usually antlers start growing in March or April, finishing in the months of August or early September. As the antlers begin to finish growing in August, the hardening of the antlers begin to happen. Blood stops flowing to the antlers and the drying of the velvet is initiated.
In less than 24 hours, the velvet rubs off naturally but can be sped up by the bucks, when they rub their antlers on tall grass or woody shrubs, revealing polished antlers, ready for the breeding season. The composition of the antlers changes to 60 percent ash and 40 percent protein, meaning the antlers are high in dry content and low in water content.
NUTRITION
White Tailed Deer are herbivores, meaning they have diet primarily consisting of plants. They eat all kinds of plant material and a variety of vegetation, consisting of twigs, bushes, fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, nuts, tender shoots and mosses. To be able to survive and sustain a healthy life, WTD need protein, minerals, energy, vitamins and water. They can find this stuff in their environments, whether it’s in desert areas or forests. One type of plant food does not dominate the WTD’s diet, for it’s food selection is based on the season and the food’s availability in their habitat. Eating right is really important for WTD, especially for bucks whose antlers are dependent on their nutrition.
White Tailed Deer excrete through their anus when their food has digested through their four stomach chambers and the intestines. Their stomachs allows the animal to gather a lot of food at once and then digest it later. They can even bring food back into their mouth to finish.
Another form of excretion done by White Tailed Deer is the shedding of their antlers. As mentioned before, antlers mostly grow on bucks. After the mating season, the bone between the pedicle and antler somewhat eaten up by it’s cells. The connection with the skull weakens, causing the antler to fall off. As soon as a deer’s antlers are shed, new growth begin instantly, however antler growth sometimes isn’t visible until several weeks pass.
The White Tailed Deer’s circulatory system consists of three important organs: the spleen, lungs and heart. WTD have a four chamber heart that circulates blood throughout the system, which is like most mammals. The blood carries nutrients and oxygen all over the body and carries away waste materials and carbon monoxide for excretion.
Executing the same function as in all mammals, the lungs transfer oxygen into the blood circulating through the alveoli and it also takes out the carbon monoxide in the blood. White Tail lungs are about the size of a dinner plate and aid the deer in running long distances at a high rate of speed. This is because the lungs work extremely efficiently. The spleen is responsible for producing blood cells, fundamentally Lymphocytes. White Tailed Deer have spleens that have the characteristic of endurance runners; their spleens belong to the blood-storing type, therefore allowing Erythrocytes to be stored in big amounts.
