 |
What are antlers? |
by Kate Simmons >> more about the author
How do animals use their antlers? Male (boy) members of the deer family attract female (girl) deer with their antlers. In fact, they may even lock antlers with other males to prove their strength.
Have you ever seen a deer in nature? Perhaps you live near a forest, or in a neighborhood where deer make an appearance from time to time! Did any of the deer have antlers? Antlers are bony structures that emerge from the heads of animals. Other members of the deer family that grow antlers include elk, moose and caribou. Antlers look a little like tree branches, and they come in pairs—one on each side of the head!
While horns also come in pairs and can be found on animals’ heads, they are permanent. This makes horns different from antlers, which are shed each year. Antlers are typically found on male animals, but in some cases, such as caribou, the females have antlers as well.
New antlers, which begin growing during the spring, are covered with furry skin called velvet. As time passes, they grow larger, and the velvet eventually dries out and peels off. The antlers are later shed, and new ones eventually begin growing. In fact, deer and other animals shed and regrow their antlers each year.
How do animals use their antlers? Male (boy) members of the deer family attract female (girl) deer with their antlers. In fact, they may even lock antlers with other males to prove their strength.
- Bies, LeeAnn and Phil Meyers. “Horns and Antlers.” Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Web. 10 Jan. 2012.
- "integument." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 10 Jan. 2012.
- “What Are Antlers?” Margam Country Park. Neath Port Talbot CBC. Web. 10 Jan. 2012.