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CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



without antlers having been reported by Charles Michael as January 

 27. In 1931, because of the mild winter, w^e thought that the bucks 

 might drop their antlers earlier than they did in 1930. However, this 

 was not the case, since only two old bucks had dropped their antlers 

 by February 8, 1931. As a general rule, the mature and more vigorous 

 bucks are the first to shed their antlers, some being without them by 

 January 15. In 1929, the last buck with old antlers was noted in 

 Yosemite on March 30, and by April 9, some of the mature bucks which 

 had dropped their antlers early had new ones nearly an inch in length. 



UNICORN BUCK 



Among the many cases of malformed antlers in mule deer which 

 I have personally observed and studied, in all but two instances the dis- 



FiG. 90. The "unicorn" buck. Note oddly shaped antlers and location of the third 

 antler. Yosemite, December 6, 1927. Mus. Vert. Zool. No. 5612. 



tortion was restricted to the two antlers themselves and did not involve 

 any other bony process. How^ever, in the case of the unicorn buck of 

 Yosemite, we have a deer that developed a third bony process or antler 

 growing out of the center of his face about halfway between his eyes 

 and nostrils (see Fig. 90). This third antler first made its appearance 

 as a single spike, but in 1927 it developed two prongs or tines. On 

 September 14, 1927, the third antler was still in the velvet and had a 

 height of 2^ inches with a basal diameter of one inch. His regular 

 antlers were in the velvet also, and at this date had a spread of 30 

 inches and were apparently nearly grown. On November 18, 1927, 

 two residents of Yosemite saw the unicorn, and on that date the shreds 

 of dry velvet were just peeling off his antlers. On December 6, 1927, 



