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WHAT A MARVELLOUS PERM DEER.... A deer shedding its velvet from its antlers looks like it is rocking a new hairdo. The fallow deer was spotted with the unusual headwear in the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen Nature Reserve along the Dutch coastline. Roeselien Raimond, 51, said, "It's velvet hanging from its head which is old, dry skin peeling from its antlers. The velvet shedding process is part of the annual life cycle of deer, where the male deer's velvet peels from their antlers. It is triggered by hormonal changes. Although the process itself is common, it’s quite rare to witness as it is just a matter of short time and you have to be there at exactly the right moment and place in order to see it happening." "This particular deer came out of the bushes and was just as surprised to see me as I was to see him. I had a hard time not to laugh out loud because of this surprising appearance. Luckily I remembered in time that I better take some pictures and I got a few seconds to photograph him and his cool hairdo before he walked away. 
It took me a few seconds to realise what this ‘wig’ exactly was. I initially thought that he had gotten his antlers caught in the bushes and some of the branches had stuck." "The velvet is a special kind of skin that covers the growing antlers, providing them with blood, nutrients, and oxygen during their development in spring and summer. The shedding occurs because the antlers have finished growing and the blood supply to the velvet will be cut off. Without blood flow, the velvet dries out and begins to loosen and peel away. They need their hardened antlers to participate in the rut, their mating season. During the shedding, the velvet hangs in ragged strips or pieces from the antlers, sometimes it looks bloody. Bucks often rub their antlers against trees or bushes to get rid of the old skin." Please byline: Roeselien Raimond/Solent News © Roeselien Raimond/Solent News & Photo Agency UK +44 (0) 2380 458800