Antler fall out

Cervus nippon yesoensis
Yezo Sika-deer
蝦夷鹿（エゾシカ）

Photograph by Baikada (ばいかだ)
*CANON EOS KISS Digital*

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夏、片角落ちの雄のエゾシカがいました。何か事故でもあったのか、角の周辺で病変があったのか？
There was male Yezo Sika-deer without one of antlers in summer. Was he some accidents? Was there change to a morbid state around his antler?

自分もはじめて知ったときは驚きましたが、亜種エゾシカを含むニホンジカの雄の角は、毎年春に抜け落ちます。そしてまたニョキニョキ生えてくるのです。あんなに大きな角が、毎年毎年生え変わっているとは知りませんでした。川でエゾシカの角を何本も拾って「ああ、ここはエゾシカの死地なのかなあ」と思っていましたが、確かに頭蓋骨は落ちていませんでした。勘違い。
When knowing for the first time, I was surprised. It is for a male antler of Sika-deer including subspecies Yezo Sika-deer to fall out in the spring of every year. And, it grows again. I did not know that such a big antler molted every year. I picked up teir antlers in the river. And I think, “Is here a graveyard of Yezo Sika-deer?”. However, any skull had not dropped. I was misunderstanding it.

それを知った上で出逢った片角落ちのエゾシカ。以前だったら、もう生えてこないと思い込んでいたでしょう。しかし、今回は別の視点で見れました。
I studied that, and met Yezo Sika-deer without one of antlers. It might have been convinced that his horn had not grown any longer when I was before. However, I was able to be seen in another aspect this time.

「彼の角は、翌年生えて来ただろうか？」
“Had his antler grown next year?”

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