According to an international study lead by Chinese researchers and published in the journal Science , a system of cancer-related genes allow deer to grow a new set of antlers every year, but the animals rarely die of cancer thanks to other tumor-suppressing genes in the body that keep the aggressive cells in check. An antler is a complex organ of bone, blood vessels, nerves, muscle and velvet. “Deer can completely regenerate (this) organ. No other mammal has that ability,” said Wang Wen, the study’s lead author. The researchers also noted that while deer might get tumors all over their body, the growths do almost no harm and disappear with time. This jibes with what we have posted on BIG [...]

It's about to get really hot and humid--how will does with fawns, and bucks growing racks handle the heat? Temperatures above normal during summer causes some stress in deer. The amount of stress is dependent on the quality of the habitat. For example, deer consume more water than any other mineral (yes, water is a mineral, a naturally occurring substance) and the amount of water deer need increases during periods of above normal temperatures. If water is limited by either quantity or quality, many of a deer's bodily functions are limited, such as a buck transferring calcium to growing antlers, or a doe producing milk for fawns. Deer can usually travel to find water. But if they are forced out of [...]