Three Common Myths About Deer Antlers

#1: They can’t tell you the age of the animal

Pictured: a well-fed young man. But can you tell how old he is? Photo by Yuya Yoshioka on Unsplash

Table of Contents

· Are deer antlers a type of horn?
· Do deer antlers grow back bigger each year, or as the deer gets older?
· What’s the purpose of antlers?
∘ Competition (sexual selection)
∘ Protection from predators
∘ Finding food
∘ Improving hearing?
· In summary: antlers are variable sized bones with a wide range of potential uses

Deer are ubiquitous throughout most of North America. Growing up in the Midwest, I remember sometimes waking up on a bright winter morning and looking out the windows into our forested back yard. I’d see deer tracks, and sometimes even get a glimpse of a young buck looking back at us. He’d stand there for a minute, head held tall with its antlered crown, before dashing into the shelter of the trees.

Those antlers are, perhaps, the most striking feature of deer. It drives hunters to seek them out, and less aggressive individuals to collect them when they’re shed in the spring.

But what are those antlers, anyway?

• Are they horns, like on a rhinoceros? Or…