Vampire whitetails?

[Big_Al]

My friend Kenny Latchford does between 600-800 european mounts a year (cleans with beetles) and he sent me this pic of a buck skull with canine teeth!  I asked him if it was one of those Transylvanian bucks     -  any ideas on what might cause this?

 

[ozy clint]

elk/whitetail cross. LOL

[A.S.]

Al, the buck in my avatar has the same thing! I have been meaning to post pics, just haven't taken time to do it.

My taxidermist friend says he sees maybe one a year (out of roughly 100) from our region. Same teeth as an elk, just a genetic thing.

[recurvist]

My cousin has a taxidermy shop ...He just found one a few days ago they are maybe half an inch pretty cool ...but I dont have a clue what causes it.  there is a Chinese water deer that has huge canines that are visible outside the closed mouth.  :eek:    :eek:

[dc51]

I've wonder the same thing.
The buck I got in 2005 also has the canines.
This is the first I've seen them since mine.

Don

[mmgrode]

Fang-like canines are quite common among deer species.  Whitetails actually used to have long fang-like canines, but lost them as evolution played it's course. These are remnants of that trait lost in most all the population long ago.  Notice how the lower lip on whitetails has a distinctive black area.  This area is also found on other deer species(Cervids) such as the Musk deer and chinese water deer whose males have fang-like cannines.  The black lower lip accentuates the white of the tooth for male dominance purposes.  
Pretty neat, eh?   Matt

[LKH]

I've found them in caribou.  I think they are just some sort of recessive gene.

[Guru]

As a taxidermist, I've seen my share also.....been told it was what mmgrode said....

[JoeM]

I just learned something this morning, might as well go back to bed!!    Joe

[Jack Guard]

As a side note, here are some pics of deer i harvested that still have canines.  The Skull and small canines are from a Reeves Muntjac.  The larger canines are from a Chinese water deer.  

 

This is the Chinese water deer the large fangs came from.

Hope you guys enjoy.  Jack

[Killdeer]

OK...now, the Chinese Water Deer doesn't have a black lower lip like the whitetail. I was really digging the "accentuation for male dominance" theory, but that seems to be blown out of the water here.

Love the pics, BTW.
Killdeer

[bbassi]

I've seen it twice in my life. Pretty cool. What I'm impressed with is the pediciles (sp?) on that skull! talk about a thick head! LOL

[recurvericky]

When I was doing taxiermy full time back in NC, I ran across several deer with the canines. Most of the canines that I saw were very small. The local biologist said is was a genetic through back like mmgrode stated. The first time I saw it while caping out a head, I was very surprised and thought it was one of a kind. Nature is amazing it's it?