Between 1955 and 1973 4.1% of deer taken on the Hopland CA field station, had velvet covered antlers that were often misshapen with spurious points.
“The owner of a ranch about 11km from the field station reported that only two “stags” (deer with misshapen velvet covered antlers) were seen durring the 30 years prior to 1967, when a large wildfire occurred on the ranch. Between 1968 and 1972, about one third to one half of the bucks killed each year (about 20) had been stags. The fire had been controlled by aerial tankers using retardants.”
“To control brush the area was sprayed by air by 47 l/ha the following spring with a mixture of 4.4 kg of 2,4-D, 2.2 kg 2,4,5-T, and 1.9 l of diesel oil diluted with water.”
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