From Deseret News archives:
Trophy elk take about 10 years to mature
By the age of 10, a bull, with a healthy diet and favorable weather, can reach trophy status, with six or seven long points coming off the main beam in those places were points are expected to be.
This constitutes a typical elk. Anything different could place the elk in the non-typical category.
Antlers in older elk start to gain in diameter but shorten in length.
The growth of individual antlers depends on a number of factors, including age, genes, health, weather and habitat.
Bull elk, for example, that enjoy abundant food and encounter mild winters will typically grow the largest antlers.
An elk that is stressed by lack of food and harsh winters will have to replace body weight before he can start antler growth. It's the same with deer.
Deer will begin to drop their antlers from January into March. Elk will start dropping antlers from January into April.
"They will begin to grow new antlers immediately after shedding," reported Rudy Drobnick, a former Utah Division of Wildlife Resources biologist who has done volunteer antler studies for the agency.
It takes about five months for antlers to reach full size.
Antler weight, of course, is determined by size. Within the five-month growing period, a mature bull elk can grow a set of antlers weighing up to 50 pounds. A moose can grow a set of antlers weighing up to 60 pounds.
Drobnick noted that in recent years, Utah has been producing a number of trophy deer and elk with wide spreads and large antlers.
A lot of the credit is due to the elk and deer management plans calling for limited entry hunts. It is also a result of good habitat and fair weather.
"The new world-record deer, for example, was taken in the Baja region of California where there is lots of food and no winters," he said.
An abundance of moisture, resulting in good plant growth, and relatively mind winters here in Utah the past few years could mean the possibility of more trophy elk and deer coming out of hunts this fall.
Comments
- Chavez ally's bro. linked to scandal 11:37 a.m.
- Jobless vie for holiday sales work 11:30 a.m.
- Handmade ornament collection 11:28 a.m.
- Queen tells paparazzi to back off 11:26 a.m.
- Romanians vote for president 11:19 a.m.
- Gender balance in science 11:14 a.m.
- Chinese target global market 11:03 a.m.
- Jazz upset by Wolves 11:02 a.m.
- Wolf recovery at crossroads 10:54 a.m.
- Holiday television program listings 10:53 a.m.
- Y., U. to learn bowl destinations
- Ed Smart 'appalled' at testimony
- Y. profs: Beck not all-knowing
- The forgotten ship: USS Utah
- George lost in rivalry hatefest
- Snowy roads cause accidents, delays
- Tiger's SUV, personal life are a wreck
- BYU basketball: Cougars crush Dons
- Utahns want health care reform bills
- Kurt Bestor: Joy for the world
- Why is Y. ignoring spew of hatred?
311 - Letters: Liberal because LDS
249 - Y. profs: Beck not all-knowing
202 - Hate not limited to 1 in-state rivalry
189 - Aggies shoot past Cougars
179 - N.Y. Senate rejects gay marriage
128 - George lost in rivalry hatefest
109 - Unbeaten BYU takes trip to Logan
105 - Harpring's NBA career is over
94 - Ed Smart 'appalled' at testimony
93
Is Angels Landing perhaps Utah's single most dangerous hiking trail? The...
We can barely afford the power we pay for now. We turn off all our lights,...
Yes @mark, and you did not respond to any, not one, of Greenfyre's challanges.
First of you must know nothing about sheep dogs - they can not train the dogs...
Yes to a few specific provisions but very much a no to this rancid bill and...
If you've watched the guy play he's pretty explosive, I've been impressed by...
They are trained to know the difference between humans and predators. But on...
I also agree about "Fantastic Mr. Fox". Its style really "clicked" with me,...
Todd how true. Most fans are content and understandable and ok losing to a...
I can't believe that everyone is bashing these BYU professors. Have you even...
Glenn, may hold his convictions to be true. But he has a machiavelian system...



You can be the first to comment on this story.