Caribou, Deer, Elk & Moose - Sounds Wild
Finding Shed Antler Pairs

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Transcript

I’m hiking in the woods on an April day with a friend. The snow has been gone for several weeks now, and the vegetation is just emerging. Visibility is excellent and the forest floor is exposed. It’s a perfect time to spot antlers that deer shed in the winter, and my friend spots a nice three-point black-tailed deer antler. She wants to know if she can keep it.

Yes. It’s legal to keep shed antlers, and the bones and skulls of common Alaska land animals. It’s important to respect private and tribal land, and you can’t take things from a national park. Rules vary for marine mammal parts you find on the beach, depending on what it is, where you find it, and if you are native or non-native, but there is always an answer. Check the Fish and Game website or call your local office.

I tell my friend we should keep looking for the other antler. Odds are good that it is in the vicinity. One shed hunter noted that of 113 shed pairs he found, half were within ten meters apart, and another quarter were within 100 yards apart. A Texas shed hunter noted that he often found shed pairs along fence lines, because the impact of landing after jumping over a fence caused both antlers to pop off at the same time. For SW…