ANTLER GROWTH AND MORPHOLOGY IN A FERAL SIKA-DEER (CERVUS-NIPPON) POPULATION IN KILLARNEY, IRELAND

Antler growth and form was examined for a sample of 303 sika stags (Ce rvus nippon) culled over an eight-year period from a feral population in Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland. Most antler measure ments taken were highly correlated with each other and growth was comp lete after the sixth year. Few abnormalities were recorded and the deg ree of asymmetry in structure was less than previously reported for ot her sika populations. Variability in structure decreased with age and there was no effect of year of birth or cull on antler size for either adult or yearling stags. The growth pattern was similar to that of ot her populations except that the proportion of 'eight pointers' was low . An examination of antler damage was used to estimate fighting freque ncy across age classes. The results are discussed in relation to the g enetic history of the herd and the use of antlers as weapons for intra -specific combat.