![]() ![]() ![]() This is separate from other bucks’ antler cycles and is possibly centered on its birth date. The particular time a buck will discard its antlers may be largely determined by its individual shedding cycle. This is the same buck before and after shedding its velvet. During this process, the antlers eventually mineralize and harden.īut then, once peak levels of testosterone are reached, a deceleration of the growth rate of a buck’s antlers occurs.ĭuring this period of peaking testosterone, the veins and arteries surrounding the velvet cut blood flow and supply of nutrients to the antlers. Antler growth starts at the tip and initially forms as a cartilage, which is later replaced by a bone-like tissue that is similar to a honeycomb.ĭuring the growth period, the pedicle is covered with a highly vascular skin, called “velvet,” that supplies nutrients and oxygen to the developing bones.ĭuring summer, deer antlers grow rapidly within two to four months and – according to Peter Yang, PhD, associate professor of orthopedics at Stanford University School of Medicine, they can grow up to 2 cm per day. Increasing levels of testosterone, in addition to decreasing daylight hours, are among the major factors contributing to antler growth during the summer months.Ĭonsidered as the most extravagant display of a male deer’s sexual traits, these antlers grow much faster than any other bones among mammals.Ī deer’s antlers grow from an attachment section on its skull known as a pedicle. Antler growth A whitetail buck’s antlers during the growth phase are covered in velvet, growing up to 2 cm per day, making them the fastest growing tissue of any mammal on earth! Now let’s take a look at the the specifics of the growth of this part of a deer’s anatomy. This can sometimes lead to broken antlers, bloody deer, and sometimes even death.īecause of the competitiveness that takes place during this time, bucks with the largest set of antlers (referred to as a “rack) often position themselves to be in the right place at the right time, as a female deer (doe) comes into estrous and becomes ready to be bred. ![]() They also use their antlers to display their physiological fitness and to show off their fertility and strength.īucks will violently clash their sets of antlers during the breeding season, or “the rut,” to display their strength and dominance. Male deer, or “bucks,” use their antlers as a weapon, whether to compete for a mate, or to defend themselves. Read on and let’s take a deeper look into deer antlers, how they are used, and the shedding process in general… What are those antlers used for anyway? The shedding and regrowth of a deer’s antlers is an amazing process. Then, throughout the summer, new antlers will regenerate. The dropping of the antlers may take place within 24 to 48 hours, but the entire shedding process may take as long as two to three weeks before the antlers actually fall off. The antlers may take on a beautiful brown hue from plant stains.During the rut, bucks will fight using their antlers, in an effort to establish dominance and the right to breed the does. By late summer, antlers harden and the velvet peels off in strips, aided by the animals rubbing on brush and trees. The process is enhanced by calcium absorbed into the blood from the skeleton and redistributed to the antlers. Inside a rich blood supply delivers phosphorous and calcium for bone growth. Initially antlers are fuzzy on the outside, a condition known as "velvet". Antlers grow out of little nubs on the skull known as pedicels. The growing process in large animals can take 140 to 160 days, and require that they eat seventy pounds of forage per day. As the spring progresses and days get longer, testosterone levels increase and the animals begin to re-grow their antlers. Antlers are made of bone, and a new set is grown every year.Įlk antlers are shed in February or March, in response to low testosterone levels. Horns are possessed by cattle, goats, and sheep and are made from a material similar to our fingernails, and are not discarded every year. Deer and elk do not have horns, although "buckhorns" or "elkhorns" are part of popular lexicon. With the exception of caribou or reindeer (their domestic equivalent), antlers are borne only by males, and for the purpose of establishing dominance during the breeding season. Antlers are found through-out the deer family (cervidae) of which elk are a member. ![]()
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