Here's a great photo of a Red Deer stag taken on Ramsey this July by day visitor Mairi.
You can see from the photo that the antlers were still 'in velvet' at the time. Now we are well into August, the testosterone levels in our stags starts to rise and this is repsonsible for the blood supply to the antlers being stopped and the velvet being lost. The antlers then harden ready for the rut in October when stags fight for possession of the hinds.
Thanks Mairi for a brilliant image.