This lucky shed hunter watches a bull elk shed his remaining antler.
For many shed hunters in North America, the ultimate dream is to watch a deer, elk or moose shed an antler right in front of them. The odds of witnessing this act every shed season are extraordinarily low in the wild. Still, the possibility keeps us watching our late winter ranges and south-facing slopes every season.
The hope is that some early spring we can catch a buck or bull at right time, as his testosterone levels are dropping and the pedicle is loosening its grip just enough, to see a naturally shed antler hit the dirt. Reggie Parsons of "Tines Up," may be a just a little luckier in this regard than most of us.
He has been trying to capture a bull elk shedding an antler for years and he's had several close calls. In one instance, the bull was just barely out of frame when it happened. Undeterred, he kept heading out this time of year knowing that at some point he had to capture it on video eventually. He finally manages to do it here. It's a little hard to see because of the brush, but this is as fresh of a six-point side as one can find!
Reggie was ALMOST in perfect position to capture a clear shot of the antler hitting the ground. If only it had popped off 10 seconds sooner. It's too bad the bull ran behind some brush. You can still see the antler pop off if you look closely. Either way, it's amazing to have something like this happen while you are watching. Reggie seems to put as much time into shed hunting as he does elk hunting the animals themselves.
And as any shed hunter will tell you, it takes a lot of effort to find any dropped antlers whether that be on public land or private land. They are the perfect color to blend in unless you know where they are. We always appreciate these antler shedding videos. It must be a huge relief for the animal to lose their heavy headgear finally. Whether it's a whitetail deer antler, or the largest of moose paddles, all antlered animals seem to act the same way after losing one. They seem to cock their heads around for a moment, confused as to why their head is suddenly lighter!
Seeing something like this also makes us appreciate more the amazing feat of growing antlers. Remember those elk antlers didn't exist less than 10-11 months earlier. It's incredible how game animals grow them every season only to lose them in the early spring. Antlers are a wonder of nature and that's one of the reasons we continue to seek them out every season.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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