First Chickens and now Deer

[ponderingturtle]

link

First it was chickens, now it is deer, when will this plague of transgendered animals stop?

Ok ok properly they should be concidered intersexed animals and not transgendered.

 

[Jeff Corey]

The doe had "a nice rack".

 

[NateTG]

Probably some kind of testosterone or oestrogen pollution. That's what's happening to the sea gulls.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Probably some kind of testosterone or oestrogen pollution. That's what's happening to the sea gulls.

Seagulls are growing antlers? Why haven't I heard of this.

Also why choose that over say hybridism and such as a common reason for intersexed humans?

 

[casebro]

Other members of the deer family have normal antlered females. Caribou? Kudu? So I'd guess a small genetic anomaly could make the prominant male characteristic spring forth, with an upthrusting appendage being forced on the unwitting females in Minnesota. And not for a mere eight second ride either, they will probably linger for long enough to bring a good head to the trophy hunter's wall.

 

[Goshawk]

There's a scientific explanation for antlered white-tail does here, courtesy of the Minnesota DNR. No pollution or genetic anomaly is required, it's just an abnormal hormone surge of testosterone that some does experience. It's more common than you might think, it's just that most of those antlered does don't get shot and tagged while there's a reporter around. Google on "antlered does", there's quite a bit of anecdotal stuff on various deer-hunting websites.

 

[Silly Green Monkey]

Other members of the deer family have normal antlered females. Caribou? Kudu? So I'd guess a small genetic anomaly could make the prominant male characteristic spring forth, with an upthrusting appendage being forced on the unwitting females in Minnesota. And not for a mere eight second ride either, they will probably linger for long enough to bring a good head to the trophy hunter's wall.

Antlers are male-only. Horns occur on both males and females, and arise differently from antlers. Horns are not shed every year, antlers are, and antlers are bare bone while horns have a keratinized outer layer.

Rhinocerous horn is made of hair!

 

[casebro]

Antlers are male-only. Horns occur on both males and females, and arise differently from antlers. Horns are not shed every year, antlers are, and antlers are bare bone while horns have a keratinized outer layer.

Rhinocerous horn is made of hair!

From the link provided by Goshawk above, #6, "With the exception of caribou, females of the deer family do not normally grow antlers. "

 

[Cuddles]

Antlers are male-only. Horns occur on both males and females, and arise differently from antlers. Horns are not shed every year, antlers are, and antlers are bare bone while horns have a keratinized outer layer.

Rhinocerous horn is made of hair!

Rhinocerouses are weird.

 

[Zygar]

Antlers are male-only. Horns occur on both males and females, and arise differently from antlers. Horns are not shed every year, antlers are, and antlers are bare bone while horns have a keratinized outer layer.

Rhinocerous horn is made of hair!

A horn is made of hair in the same way that fingernails are made of hair. They are all made from keratin, but I personally do not think of horns or fingernails as hair.