Have you ever seen “fangs” on a deer?  Some deer do have maxillary canine teeth in the upper jaw, or upper canines, but they are rare.   All deer have canine teeth on the bottom, though.

Richard Demler, a taxidermist in Michigan’s upper peninsula, was doing work on a whitetail buck (pictured above) and noticed it had upper canines.  “I did two [bucks] a couple years ago with upper canines and found out later they were killed less than a mile apart,” recalled Demler.

These cases of deer with upper canines stem from pre-historic genetics.  Even though the genetic link to various small Asian deer (aka Muntjacs), that have prolonged canine teeth that appear tusk-like and can grow upwards of 3 inches, has weakened, some deer still carry the gene.

If you are one of the lucky few who harvest a buck with upper canines, then be sure to hold onto it.  Many hunters spend their entire lives trying to find this particular feature on a deer they harvest.

Below are some pictures of some types of deer with “fangs”: