In Hokkadio, Japan, a sika buck was spotted with another decapitated, sika buck head stuck in its antlers.
A reasonable theory is that the two were locked in a battle when one passed away. If that is the case, the surviving buck may have carried the rival until decay set in, thus separating the head and ending the literal dead weight.
Another theory, proposed by the Instagram account Nature is Metal, suggests that the one dear was already dead. Due to the effects of mating season on the one sika, i.e. high levels of testosterone, the buck decided to lock antlers with the corpse. This would mean it did not have to carry the carcass far and may have even separated the head from the body almost immediately.
In their post, they stated, “During the rut (mating season for deer) testosterone pretty much runs the show... The bucks are so amped up that they will lock antlers with any other buck, including dead ones. I’m almost certain that’s what happened here - the disembodied deer was already dead and in an advanced state of decay, which made it easy to relieve the head of its body.”
Story via Country Rebel
