Time Frame

• Antlers grow from the two nubs on the deer's head known as pedicules. They protrude out of the skull in the first year of life and support the antlers, which do not begin growing until a male deer, or buck, is in his second year. That first year most deer species will grow short spike-like antlers. It is not until the third year that a deer will begin to have antlers that branch out, with each year adding more branches. The antlers are shed in January or February after the mating season and then begin to grow again in the spring, sometimes at the rate of almost 2 inches a day.
  
  

Significance

• Growing antlers are covered with a substance called velvet, a brownish hued fur that encases a network of blood vessels and endings of nerves. The velvet provides the nutrients for the antlers as they develop. During this time antlers are easily damaged so a deer will take great care not to do anything that may hurt them. Once they have achieved maximum growth the deer will rub the velvet off its antlers, which harden in the late summer.
  
  

Function

• Antlers are a vital part of a male deer's fight with another male. They will often lock them together and push against their opponent in a test of strength. Often if a deer has a huge set of antlers it will remain unchallenged by other males, who know that it is a superior animal. There is some evidence now that the antlers of some deer species help them to hear better, such as moose; the antlers can reflect sound to the animal's ears. The only species of deer in which both sexes grow antlers are reindeer, as they allow the creature to dig in the snow for food.
  
  

Size

• The largest sets of antlers are found on the moose, which makes sense because it is the largest of all deer species. Only the extinct Irish Elk was as big as a moose, which can have antlers that are as large as six feet across. The Irish Elk, which died off as recently as 11,000 years ago, had massive antlers even in comparison to the moose of today. Some fossil specimens have been recovered that measure twelve feet wide.
  
  

Considerations

• A conservation club called the Boone and Crockett Club has an elaborate measurement system designed for antlers of deer species. The complex formula takes into account such factors as how many points on the antlers, the length of each branch, and the distance between the antlers. Deer are given a final score based on this formula with world records being kept for each species.