>>The longer days insight hormonal shifts in male deer jump starting another dramatic change, antler growth.

(light music) Abundant vegetation also fuels this surge, leading some adult bucks to grow antlers and inch and a half per week.

(deer chewing) (light music continues) (insects chirping) Velvet composed of skin and blood vessels envelopes the antlers delivering the nutrients and oxygen needed for this rapid growth.

(leaves rustling) (light music) (insects chirping) But after the summer solstice, as the days shorten (leaves rustling) the blood flow to antlers slows.

(ears flapping) (light music continues) The velvet dries and falls away revealing hardened bone.

(light music continues) (insects buzzing) By September, (leaves crunching) the male's antlers have fully formed just in time for battle.

(antlers cracking) (light music continues) Shorter days unleash a rise in hormones (antlers cracking) driving bucks to aggression (antlers cracking) as they assert dominance to attract does.

(light music continues) As winter nears and mating season ends, hormone levels and antlers drop.

The deer's fur coats grow thicker and warmer as they search for shelter.

Daylight continues to fade and a deeper shift takes hold.

While many animals settle in for their winter's sleep, deer cannot shut down their hunger.

To survive they slow their movements, conserving just enough energy to make it through the long cold months ahead.

(leaves rustling) (light music continues) (wind blowing) (light music)