About Antlers

Above, yours truly at an antler arch in Jackson, Wyoming. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky.

For those who are aghast over antlers made into arches, home decorations and other things, having antlers from a deer or elk doesn't mean that they were killed.

From about mid-August to mid-September, deer and elk shed their antlers and people retrieve them for the aforementioned uses. They grow new ones the following spring.

Above, one such use of shed antlers. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In fact, in Jackson, Wyoming, the shed antlers are auctioned off after being gathered by the Boy Scouts and other charitable groups. The money raised (around $100,000) goes for feed for elk at the National Elk Preserve near Jackson.

According to our raft trip guide, elk have long since forgotten about migrating to lower areas during winter or unable to due to areas being built up. So the proceeds of the antler auctions go to feeding the elk (and deer).

So, if one is in Jackson, Wyoming and sees something made of antlers, go ahead and buy it and help feed the elk and deer.