I have been watching quite a few elk videos of recent.....and it seems that most bulls tend to have antlers that are all one color. However, there are quite a few bulls that have white-tipped antlers. My question is this....is it that the antlers are white-tipped.....or are the bases darker from rubbing on vegetation, which makes normal colored tips appear to be whiter than normal? ....or is it a function of genetics, diet, or some other factor? I only seem to notice it in bigger, older bulls. I don't remember seeing many (if any) raghorns with this color configuration. Any thoughts?
Bases are darker. Mountain elk always seem to have darker racks accenting the white tips more than low country private land bulls. Just like the difference between timber whitetails in Pa and farm country deer of Ohio and the midwest.
A lot of bulls rake the ground with their antlers, that's what polishes the tips and makes them appear ivory colored. The dark coloration on the rest of the antler is mainly from the trees they rub on.
My experience with both elk, moose and deer is that bulls/bucks who rub on conifers often have darker antlers. Perhaps because the pitch from the conifers attracts more dirt? Bulls/bucks that rub on other less-resinless species tend to have lighter colored antlers. For example, animals that rub most often on alder or willow, often have "redder" antlers. Just my .02 cents worth of theory!
Jake, I think the antler coloration is mostly from blood staining and the type of vegetation the bull rubs on. As mentioned, the tips of bigger bulls get polished up from raking the ground and maybe from sparring/fighting.
This is about deer, but I think the same applies for elk.
"Several factors may be responsible. According to Dr. George Bubenik, world renowned antler growth expert and former professor of zoology at Guelph University in Ontario, antler color depends partly on the amount of oxidized blood on the antlers (from velvet shedding) and partly from a chemical reaction between the blood and juices from plants on which the antlers are rubbed. If a buck begins rubbing his antlers before the velvet and blood have completely dried, the blood stains the antler and gives it a darker color. The predominant species of trees in an area also influence the color. Pines allegedly cause darker antlers, likely from bucks rubbing on exposed sap after they break the tree’s cambium layer. A buck’s genetics may also influence color. Some bucks are predisposed to having lighter or darker antlers, and some rub more or fewer trees. A buck’s age can play a role as older bucks tend to rub more than younger animals. Finally, the time of year can influence color as antlers generally lighten over time due to the bleaching effect of moisture and sunlight."
"...but how would you explain an elk rubbing all the hard to reach places? It’s not like they have a mirror, think about it, all the way down the backside of their horns to the burn with mostly even color.
This one seems to be hitting those "hard to reach places" pretty well. ;-)
We were on an elk hunt in the west kootenay region (south-central British Columbia) - early September. We came upon one bull that had perfectly white antlers. No blood, no pitch, no colour at all. Perfectly white. Anyone ever seen that before? FYI this bull was HuGE 6x6 375ish.
The west kootenay is pretty much a rainforest. I doubt that bull ever saw direct sun. It’s like his velvet fell off in a rainstorm and washed the antlers clean. Any of the other bulls we saw were normal - dark antlered and in the rut.
If you watch the entire video, that bull raked pretty much every inch of his antlers, front and back. And that's just one raking session. He's likely to do that several times a day over the course of 3-4 weeks. I think it's fair to say that most of the antler coloration comes from the vegetation they rake. The antler tips get rubbed clean from raking the ground, IMO.
The best colored ones imo, are the Roosies that rub on alder turning them almost orange. White tips are a product of very dense and solid, smooth, non-textured antler found on the tips where the color from the trees has a real problem absorbing and staining that portion of the antler.
Grey Ghost's posting hits the hard to answer question of how do they get to all the places so uniformly.
I think it's impossible to do with rubbing, especially since it's so uniform. I have a couple of large dark bulls with nice white tips. The darkness is so uniform it's impossible they did it with rubbing.
No, they look red from the blood but then that starts to dry and the antlers change to whatever shade they will finally assume.
Look at some of the very dark antlers and yo will see how uniform the shading is away from the tips. That's not possible to do with rubbing.
In Alaska it's not unusual to kill caribou with various colors varying from almost white to a nice brown. Through most of that country there is almost nothing to rub on. Some willow in the valleys but not much else. Also if the tens of thousands of caribou all rubbed brush you would see the evidence of that while hunting. There is almost no evidence of antler rubbing when you consider the size of the herds.
I’ll agree with Mike, Pete and Mule power. I’ve spent lots of time with bulls when they shed velvet. White or a slight tinge of red after they are done. They start rubbing on brush and pine, and antlers are significantly darker in a week. Just my experience with Wyoming elk.
Agree with Ron. I've observed hundreds of bull elk during, and just after, the shedding period. Their horns are almost entirely white at that time. By the time the rut arrives, they've usually taken on a much darker appearance, with white tips. That could only come from rubbing, IMO.
Jimmy John's monster Arizona elk is a prime example. That bull had literally shed its velvet the day before it was killed. If you look closely at the pics, there is still remnants of velvet on his antlers. Overall, his antlers have almost no color, and there is no significant difference in the color of the antler tips. Had that bull survived for another 3-4 weeks, I'm confident his antlers would have been a beautiful chocolate color, with white tips.
I'd also add, much of the color of some of the darkest antlers of bulls I've killed was from good old mud. I quick hose off revealed a much lighter color.
It's a combination for sure. I do think if for some reason an animal strips during a rain storm or prolonged days of drizzle that could easily start that animal off whiter than it would have otherwise. My first bull moose that I shot in a burn was very white. My brother shot one a few days later that was nice and dark. Seeing as the weather up there can often be rainy for days, I could easily imagine mine having stripped during prolonged wetness and started very white.
