Horns of a deer (photo). What for a deer of a horn? When do the deer dump the horns?

Horns of deer are a distinctive feature that distinguishes these animals among other fauna representatives and gives their image beauty and nobility. What is the purpose of these solid outgrowths? Why and when do deer drop horns? What is the difference between such outgrowths in different representatives of the family Cervidae? The answers to these and other questions will be presented in the article below.

Horns - pride of deer

The deer antler is an element that only the males of the Cervidae family can boast. But there are exceptions, when in some subspecies, outgrowths are present on the head of a female. These include, for example, reindeer.

Deer antlers are not hollow, as in cows, but have a cellular structure. By the number of processes on them it is possible to determine the age of the animal. After all, the number of branches and the size of the horns themselves increase from year to year.

Adult members of the family Cervidae every year after the end of the rut, that is, the mating season, drop their outgrowths on the forehead. After that, the animal has new horns. During their growth they are covered with tender and sensitive skin. It contains a large number of blood vessels that feed the horn bone and contribute to its strengthening.

How do the horns appear in deer?

In the first year of a deer's life, two bulges, similar to buttons, grow on his forehead. They are called "legs" and are present on the head of the animal throughout his life. In the spring of these "buttons" begin to grow horns, which during the summer significantly increase in size. In the beginning, there are direct processes that will branch out in the future.

Young horns of a deer cover the skin. Therefore, they appear visually soft and velvety. During the autumn, this peel dies off, and the bare bone opens. The horns of the young deer become similar to those that adorn the heads of adults. However, these outgrowths differ considerably in the smaller size and number of processes.

What for a deer of a horn?

The large branched horns of these animals have several functions, one of which is protection from enemies. Deer rarely use their outgrowths on the head in order to butt. However, deer antlers, having impressive sizes, act on predators eerily, and not every beast will venture to attack their owner.

Also, bone outgrowths on the forehead of members of the family Cervidae are often used as an adaptation for the production of a particular food in the winter. For example, in order to eat a favorite yagel, representatives of the northern subspecies are snowing their horns.

Another purpose of the outgrowths on the head of a deer is to participate in fights that the males arrange during the rut. It is in this situation that deer use horns to hurt the enemy. During the breeding season, the animal attacks its rival and acts with particular cruelty. The defeated male bleeds, and the winner as a trophy gets the right to mate with a young female.

When and why does the deer dump the horns?

Sometimes in the forest you can see the dropped deer antlers (photo below). The process of getting rid of old outgrowths can be compared to the usual moult, which is inherent in many animals. The horns on the head of these animals are a living organism. His cells grow, divide and die. In a certain period of life of the deer, a ring is formed at the base of the horns, which prevents blood flow, which supplied them with nutrients.

The process of dropping out of solid outgrowths begins with the fact that small fragments break from them. The size of the following breakable pieces becomes bigger and bigger. And at some point the horns of the deer completely fall away. This occurs after the completion of the mating season, which lasts from December to February for members of the Cervidae family. In the spring deer grow new horns. This process lasts two to four months.

To accelerate the dropping of horns, animals rub through them about tree trunks, stumps, earth, logs or large stones. The older the deer, the earlier it tries to get rid of branched outgrowths. After all, the old individuals become more and more difficult to carry such a load on their heads over the years.

Sometimes it happens that after this process, the deer on the forehead retains a fairly large fragment of the horn. This can cause discomfort, because the animal's head will heel sideways and interfere with the freedom of movement. In such a situation, the male will try to get rid of the remaining element as quickly as possible, for example, grinding it off the stone.

Horns of noble deer

The horns of the reindeer begin to grow and develop closer to the middle of April. Already in May the length of the pantov (young outgrowths) is about 10 centimeters. Throughout the summer, they continue their intensive growth and already in August reach their maturity. By the end of the summer pantas are released from the skin.

As for the age features of the deer horns of this subspecies, in the deer of the first year of life, there are "matches" or "hairpins" on the head, the length of which reaches 15 centimeters. Over the next twelve months on the horns of the noble deer appears 3 sprouts. In the future, branches will be added one per year until the moment when the animal is 7 years old.

Noble reindeer throw off their horns every year. This occurs in March-April, less often in February. Often, before getting rid of old outgrowths, males walk around trees and rub their heads against them. At the same time, the bark is damaged on the trunks, and specific tags appear that leave the antler's horns (the photo can be seen below).

The age and the physical condition of the red deer influence the process of dropping outgrowths. The new horns begin to grow even after 5-10 days after the old ones departed.

Horned elk

Elk is the owner of huge branching horns of shovel-shaped form. Such outgrowths adorn the heads of only males. The elk's horns are impressive in size. After all, their weight is up to 20 kilograms, and the length can reach one and a half meters.

Horns of young elk soft. Their inner part contains blood vessels, and outside - tender skin and soft hair. If a young individual injures his outgrowths on his head, they bleed. In this case, the animal experiences painful sensations. Later the horns of the young moose become firmer, branches appear on them. But the shape of the shovel grows only in the fifth year of life.

During August-September, the elk has a mating season, after which the period of dropping the horns comes. Animals get rid of old outgrowths at the very beginning of the cold period. This greatly facilitates the life of moose, because in the winter they would not be easy to move with heavy horns, covered with snow.

Horn of axis, northern and spotted deer

Axis is a deer with vilo-shaped horns. He is distinguished by incredible grace. Horns axis three-pointed, have long hemp and strongly bent back. The growths have a forked trunk and a frontal process of long length. These deer get rid of horns in August.

The reindeer on the forehead can boast both males and females. Horns in newborns begin to grow at the age of two weeks. Young males, not participating in the race, get rid of the hard outgrowths on the forehead in January. And adult male individuals do this at the end of the mating season, which occurs in September-November. Female dropping outgrowths on the head after calving, that is, in mid-May-June. The new horns of the reindeer begin to form in August, and in September fur comes off them.

Spotted deer are the most ancient subspecies of the family Cervidae, and therefore their horns have a simple structure. Outgrowths on their head lack a second supraorbital process and a crown. Horns of spotted deer have no more than five branches. The outgrowths on the forehead of these animals are present only in males.

Why are deer horns cut off?

In reindeer husbandry, the deer are cut off from the head of living deer. These are young horns of deer, which have not yet had time to ossify. From the heads of downtrodden animals, they obtain foreheads that need to be cut off with a fragment of the skull.

From the obtained young horns, pantocrine is produced - a medical preparation that influences the nervous system and is used to treat various diseases.

Ripe pantas are characterized by the presence of separated branches that have swollen droplet-shaped ends. The surface of the processes should not be ribbed. The pantas of the necessary ripeness are highly appreciated. If the young antlers of the deer have not grown sufficiently, their healing properties are not fully revealed. The same applies to overripe antlers, who have already acquired a ribbed structure and pointed ends.

After cutting off the young horns, they are freshly sent for processing or canned for later use.

Conclusion

The horn of a deer is an element that makes the image of this animal more beautiful and nobler. Hard outgrowths on the head of representatives of the family Cervidae are present mainly in males, although there are exceptions. Deer use horns in the fight for young female individuals. Also outgrowths on the forehead of these animals help them to protect themselves from predators and to obtain food from under the snow. The elk and deer antlers fall off when the mating season passes. This happens at the end of winter - early spring. And over the next two to four months, new outgrowths appear on the head of the deer.