Mike is starting to lose it

Mike is one of the four largest deer and the first to begin shedding the velvet from his antlers in such a big way. We thought the velvet might just rub off in small pieces but you can see the long strands to the right of his face and on his forehead.

Yesterday he was a bit annoyed with the dangling old velvet and lowering his head trying to shake off the unwanted strands . The other deer thought he was challenging them whenever he lowered his antlers, so they were on edge, too trying hard to keep out of his way.

In the herd hierarchy, it appears that Mike is second to Max in command in most situations. He can be aggressive and can intimidate other deer, even when he isn't shedding his velvet.

We named him Mike because we like deer names that begin with the letter M and because it's Allan's middle name.