How to age muntjac buck

Is it possible to tell the age of a muntjac buck from its antlers?

Estimating the age of a muntjac buck from its antler growth is complicated by the fact that muntjac breed all year round.

Bucks start to develop their pedicles at about five months and grow their antlers four or five months after that. Subsequently, they will synchronise the date at which their first antlers are cast to the following May or June, the period at which most bucks shed their antlers. Thus, a buck born in late spring will grow his first antlers towards the end of the following winter and keep them right through to midsummer the following year, whereas one born in the winter may shed his first antlers at the age of only 14 months.

The first antlers have no coronets, while the second antlers have coronets but no clearly defined brow points.

A better way to age a buck that you have shot is by removing and boiling out his tusks. Those of a young buck have wide, open roots, the walls of which are thin and brittle. From the age of three years, the root progressively closes and after five years, there will be only a pinprick left. GD

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Determining the age of a shot muntjac buck from antler growth is tricky and a better method is to remove and boil out the tusks because the roots gradually close over the course of about five years