Throughout all known human history, we have admired and valued antlers. In ancient times, they showed up in cave paintings and were used as tools and decoration. Today, we obsess over the size of the antlers on a deer we are hunting or an elk someone else has taken. We have multiple record books dedicated to documenting the biggest antlers. And we still use them in our decorating!
What’s the big deal—why do antlers matter so much to us? I’m no anthropologist (or psychologist), but I’d imagine that part of the reason is because in the animal world, antlers symbolize strength, dominance and virility. The buck or bull with the largest antlers typically dominates the herd and does much of the breeding. But the other reason is that they’re just biologically fascinating. Consider these cool antler facts.
Antlers are the fastest-growing mammal tissue we know of. Depending on the species, antlers can grow up to an inch a day. A mature bull moose can put on a pound of antlers per day!
Antlers are true bone. At a microscopic level, they have a honeycomb structure. They grow out of knobby nubs on a deer’s head called pedicels, which are permanent and serve as the break-off point when antlers are shed each year.
Antlers are not horns. Only members of the deer family have antlers, which, as mentioned, are true bone. They’re a single structure, while horns, which are found on goats, sheep, bison and more, are a two-part structure—the interior bone is covered by a sheath of keratin (essentially hair follicles). Antlers are shed and regrown yearly, while horns continue to grow throughout an animal’s life and are not shed, with one exception: The American Pronghorn sheds and regrows its horn sheath annually.
Several factors influence antler size. Genetics certainly plays a role, but nutrition is far more important, and bucks in quality habitats with a higher-protein diet will grow larger antlers than bucks who struggle nutritionally.
Antlers are only for males, but there’s one exception: caribou. Male and female caribou grow antlers in the spring and summer. Males shed their antlers in late fall, but females retain their antlers until they give birth in the spring—thus the joke that Santa’s reindeer must all be female, because they still have antlers in December. While other members of the deer family feature antlers only on males, female whitetails or moose can occasionally grow antlers due a hormone imbalance.
Antler growth is controlled by the photoperiod—the relative length of daylight versus darkness. As daylight increases in the spring, it triggers bucks to begin producing more testosterone, which triggers antler growth and also bulks up the neck muscles in order to support the new antlers.
Yearling bucks usually carry spikes. These first-year antlers are small and often unbranched, because the growing young buck’s body is directing most of its nutrition toward building its muscle and skeletal structure. Once he’s grown to his full size, a buck can afford to put more of his energy into growing antlers.
Growing antlers are covered in velvet, which is a fuzzy skin full of nerve endings and blood. The velvet actually nourishes the growing antler. Velvet begins to dry up and fall off in late summer, but there are a handful of states that have an early deer season that will allow you to harvest a buck that is still in velvet. A taxidermist can preserve the velvet for a mount if you freeze the rack very quickly. Velvet decomposes rapidly.
Velvet is super sensitive. Deer in velvet are protective of their antlers, trying not to let anything contact them. They’re delicate and very prone to damage or breakage that this stage. In fact, it’s theorized that the tiny hairs on velvet antlers serve as a “radar system” that helps a deer not bump into things. If an antler is injured during the rapid-growth velvet stage, it will likely be misshapen for the rest of the year.
Bodily injuries can affect antler growth. Some atypical (asymmetric) racks are a result of genetics, but more often they’re the result of an injury to the antler or to another part of the deer’s body, particularly to the legs. An injury to a deer’s back leg will create a deformity on the opposite-side antler, while an injury to a front leg will affect the antler on the same side. If the injury heals well, the antlers can grow normally the following year. If it does not heal, the affected antler will always be abnormal (and usually small). An injury to the testicles can cause antlers to be misshapen, often failing to shed and staying in velvet permanently. This is called cryptorchidism, and these deer are sometimes called “cactus bucks” because of the unusual shape and bumpy or spiky appearance of their antlers.
Velvet doesn’t itch. You might have heard, or assumed, that bucks rub their antlers on small trees to scrape off the dried velvet because it’s itchy. This is false—once it dries, velvet contains no living nerve tissue, so it can’t itch. Rather, bucks rub trees to strengthen their neck muscles in preparation for the fighting they’re about to have to do with other bucks in the upcoming rut. They are also scraping their faces, not just their antlers, against the tree, spreading their scent around to make their presence known to other deer.
Antlers come in various shades. Some antlers are nearly white, while others are chocolate brown. The color of antlers is determined partly by genetics, but a lot of it has to do with the type of trees commonly found in the area and when the buck starts rubbing. Rubbing and scraping antlers before the blood is dried can lead to fresh blood staining the antlers, and on top of that, blood can react with the juices of the plants that are being rubbed. Pine trees in particular tend to cause darker antlers. Age matters, too—older bucks tend to rub more, thus having more opportunities to darken their antlers. And antlers tend to lighten over time as the sun and moisture have bleaching effects.
Shed antlers are a rich source of minerals for mice, squirrels, porcupines and other creatures that chew on them to gain nutrients and help wear down their teeth. Antlers are full of calcium, phosphorus and protein, among other things, and while hunting for shed antlers is a popular pastime, it’s illegal in some areas in order to support the critters and habitat that rely on them.
In addition, antlers may be useful for humans, medicinally. They’ve been used for a very long time in Chinese medicine to treat and support a variety of conditions. We know that antlers have anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, cartilage-building and other positive properties, and it’s even available as a dietary supplement marketed to improve athletic performance. However, it’s important to note that the FDA does not regulate supplements, and more research is needed to verify the variety of health-related claims regarding antlers.
