Velvet?

[WORM82]

While checking cams yesterday I found a few rubs and 1 still had a strip of dried velvet hanging on it about a foot long. I thought it was a neat find and figured it was pretty rare to find it. Anyone ever find any like this? I have heard that some cultures use it for medicinal use such as an aphrodisiac. Anyone heard of this?

 

[KENBOB10]

The deer usually eat it. I ain't never found any. Seems like I heard that people should not ingest it. May be wrong.

 

[BHC]

Bucks eat it a lot.. That's crazy you found that though...

 

[HuntingDicksonDTC]

thats cool, every early rub i look for velvet around & never found any

 

[WORM82]

The small sapling I found this in wasn't like all the other rubs I saw. It looked like last years rub and didn't have the green/yellow showing from the bark being gone. I think the normal looking rubs are made once all the velvet is removed. I figured if the buck didn't eat it the coyotes,coons, scavengers would have it gone quickly. It also smelled like a wet dog.

 

[Vermin93]

I have heard that some cultures use it for medicinal use such as an aphrodisiac. Anyone heard of this?

The Chinese use the entire elk and deer velvet antler in their traditional Chinese medicine, along with things like shark fins, tiger fishing rod, bear bile, rhino horn, exotic animal organs, etc. Much of the world's poaching and the associated black market exist because of traditional Chinese medicine. They are not interested in only the shed antler "skin" that you found.

Deer antler products are also used in the US (see Ray Lewis). The sourcing of deer antler isn't as bad as some of the other "ingredients" that I mentioned. Most of it comes from regulated deer farms in New Zealand. The deer are treated with a local anesthetic before the velvet antlers are lopped off and sold to markets in China and the US.

 

[RUGER]

I have seen blood drips in a salt like at LBL before.