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Velvet Antlers
November Nature Notes: The science behind velvet
Antlers are an amazing example of nature’s handiwork, not only to wildlife watchers, but also to the scientists who study the amazing, annual regeneration of the bony headgear. The new living tissue, called velvet antler, grows at amazing speed and, with the ability to grow up to an inch a day over a 3-month period, is one of the fastest growing tissues known to man.
The fact antlers drop off and regrow each year remains something of a scientific puzzle for wildlife biologists. As the fall and early winter mating season passes, whitetail bucks in Illinois and elsewhere begin to drop their antlers. Late January and February is when it happens. Typically, both antlers drop within three days of each other.
Why do deer and other cervid species such as elk and moose shed their antlers after breeding season? Plenty of hypotheses exist, including the possibility there really is no biological purpose for the shedding and regeneration—it could be just an evolutionary quirk. But scientists also link the shedding of antlers to the drop in male testosterone levels after the fall mating season (known as the rut). A layer of tissue called the abscission layer forms between the antler base (known as the pedicle) and the antler itself. The once-living bone, just like a once-living leaf on a tree, falls away to the ground as a gift to the forest floor to offer nutrients for new life. J
John Bunnell is the site interpreter at Eldon Hazlet State Park.
By: John Bunnell