I've always wondered just how many bucks die of old age or natural causes in the remote mountains of Pennsylvania well within the steep side hills and laurel infested ridgetops. Well this past spring while on a shed hunting outing I came across something that I have been wanting to find and is very unique to say the least. I came across an old buck that succombed to the rigors of the deep snow and extremely frigid temperatures we had this past winter. When I found him in mid-April the coyotes had him torn apart and he was decomposing pretty rapidly, unfortunately he had shed his antlers. Luckily the entire head and jawbone were intact and I was able get a look at his teeth for eruption wear analysis, which is fairly inaccurate at that age, but due to extreme wear I guessed him to be extremely old. I guessed him to be in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 years old. I did pull an incisor tooth and sent it in for further anyalysis. Well yesterday I received results back...
"We have completed processing on the whitetail deer specimen you submitted on June 5, 2009 for forensic aging. We promised to have the results back to you by October 5, 2009. The cementum-annuli analysis has determined that the age of your “2009 Winter Find” buck is 10.5 years. The cementum lines are very distinct. We will be sending you a paper copy of this e-mail via the US Post Office. If you have any questions, or if we can be of additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for doing business with us again this year."
I would love to be able to know more about him and his life and the encounters and situations he has been in. At 10 years old, that would mean he would have been born in 1998. Just think of the things he has seen; winters, hot summers and insects, other bucks he buddied with, and near brushes with death he experienced until mother nature finally took hold of him. An animal that definitely deserves our utmost respect. Here are a few pictures of him from mid-April...
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