Open AccessAntler growth in male roe deer in field hunting grounds in Vojvodina: Effect of age on trophy value
Author(s) -
Dragan Gačić
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
glasnik šumarskog fakulteta - univerzitet u beogradu/glasnik šumarskog fakulteta
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2217-8600
pISSN - 0353-4537
DOI - 10.2298/gsf0694109g
Subject(s) - trophy , antler , roe deer , capreolus , geography , zoology , demography , biology , archaeology , sociology
Antler growth in male roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L) was studied on the representative sample consisting of 546 trophies (227 from Bačka and 319 from Banat) hunted in the period 19982005. No significant differences in antler characters and trophy values were noted between Bačka and Banat (except weight of antlers for 5 year old males), and the data for both regions were pooled. Antler growth is a curvilinear function of age. Mean values of length, weight and volume of antlers, and total trophy score varied significantly between the males in different age groups. The study results prove that in Vojvodina field hunting grounds, healthy males attain the culmination in antler growth and trophy value at the age of six years but already after the age of seven years, they show the first sign of old age and decline