Saturday, August 18, 2007

Steven and Swift. You will notice that his antlers look "fuzzy", so here is a lesson for those of you who aren't privy to elk biology. (Probably Kayleen and Pauline...there will be questions at a later date!) A male elk looses his antlers (not horns...) every year after breeding season and grows new ones in the spring. During the initial growth phase, the antlers are covered with a soft velvet, which has blood vessels running through it to provide nutrients to the antlers, which are more of a cartiledge. Once they harden, the elk remove the velvet by rubbing on trees and branches. Often the velvet dangles down like ribbons, making the majestic elk look quite silly. The velvet is often harvested on game farms and sold as an aphrodesiac.


"How did that go again? You put your left foot in? You take your rear foot out? I'm just not sure..." Ok...so much for majestic elk...
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