Not all antlers are created equal. The fact is that it is the hallmark of any deer . Thus, all deer also have somewhat different antlers and all species have in some way a different antler shape. The deer is distinguished not only by size and appearance, an essential feature for the value or rather for its reputation is the antlers.
In the following article we will try to answer many questions that keep coming up in relation to antlers.
How do antlers grow?
The growth is controlled by the male sex hormone testosterone. Two so-called rosebushes are formed on the forehead of the deer from which the antlers grow. During the growth phase, the antlers are supplied with blood.
Here is a stag that has already partially swept off the velvet of its antlers.
This allows a thin skin layer (also called bast). Once growth is complete, blood flow also ends and the deer rubs the bast on shrubs or trees. In technical jargon, this is called “sweeping”.
What are the antlers made of ?
Basically, it is like a bone and consists of lime and many other minerals contained in the bones, for example, magnesium or calcium.
Why does the deer shed its
antlers
?
This is probably one of the most interesting questions and there are also many hypotheses about it. So there is the thesis that antlers serve the hormone or mineral storage. However, these substances should be stored only for a certain time of the year. And so this reservoir is thrown off after the rut (here particularly many minerals are needed).
Another theory is that antlers serve as organs for releasing excess heat needed only for the particularly “hot times.”
But in one of the latest issues of the Journal of Mammalogy , biologists V. Geist and P. T. Bromley of the University of Calgary now reject these notions. They believe that the males shed their poles because they are weakened after the rut and wearing the headdress would signal their exhausted state to predators. After dropping the poles, the exhausted males are hardly distinguishable from the rest of the herd and so they are well protected from enemies.
Why do deer have antlers?
The question is easy and very plausible to answer, because in the rut the stags try to convince the female of themselves.
In the rut the deer use their antlers for fights
This happens as so often in the animal world by fighting, because the strongest is usually also the most advantageous partner to get a strong offspring. Thus antlers are there to decide the rutting fights for itself and to convince the female so of itself.
When are the antlers shed?
This varies and depends on the type of deer. Thus, the roebuck sheds its headdress in the fall to late fall. In the case of red deer, this occurs in late winter. But in general it can be said that all species of deer drop their rods from autumn to spring.
What animals have antlers?
Here you can see very nicely that the antlers are mostly reserved for the males.
Basically all male deer. In reindeer, females also wear smaller antlers, otherwise the headdress is reserved for males except in exceptional cases.
Where to find antlers?
In Europe, the deer tends to be found only in breeding enclosures or in zoos. As a result, the larger antlers tend not to be found in the wild. Unlike the antlers of the roebuck. The roebuck is widespread in our forests and so its antlers can be found there as well.
Where to sell antlers?
A very simple answer: with us or any company that makes deer antler decorations or similar antler products from it.
Where to buy antlers?
Usually breeders sell the antlers of their deer or even zoos sometimes offer them for sale. The price depends mostly on the quantity of the purchase and is charged by the kilogram. Smaller quantities are of course also offered on well-known online marketplaces such as “Willhaben” or “Ebay”.