Weird Deer: Longest “Unicorn” Tine Ever!
The typical “unicorn” tine--third beam that sprouts out a buck’s forehead—is 1 to 4 inches long. The middle tine in this picture appears to be 13 inches or longer, likely making it longest unicorn tine ever on a whitetail. Biologists note that a unicorn tine is caused by trauma to the frontal bone on a buck’s forehead. This entire region of the skull is capable of growing antler, and if an area of the frontal bone is injured (such as a tine puncture from another buck) the trauma may cause a third antler to grow from the injury. How rare is a unicorn buck? Short answer, very. Noted whitetail scientist Mickey Hellickson says that during his days of researching wild whitetails on the [...]