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<\/p>\nMany people use the words “antlers” and “horns” interchangeably\u00a0as if they’re the same thing. They are not. Yesterday’s post\u00a0about\u00a0the pronghorn with deformed horns prompted several requests that I cover the differences between\u00a0antlers and horns\u00a0and this post is my response.<\/p>\n
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Antlers are found on members of the deer family (Cervidae<\/em>) – all species of deer, moose and elk.\u00a0This mule deer buck with his neck swollen for the rut has a handsome rack of antlers, not horns.<\/p>\n Antlers:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is a bull elk whose still-growing antlers are covered in velvet which carries blood and nutrients to the growing antlers. When the antlers reach full size the velvet dies and is shed leaving the mature antlers behind.<\/p>\n Horned mammals never have velvet.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Horns are found on members of family Bovidae<\/em>,\u00a0the cloven hoofed ruminants, including cattle, bison, water buffalo, antelope, sheep, goats and muskoxen.\u00a0I think readers will agree that this\u00a0male desert bighorn sheep has spectacular horns.<\/p>\n Horns:<\/p>\n So an adult\u00a0horned\u00a0mammal of either sex\u00a0will always have its horns while antlered mammals only have antlers in season (usually) and only on males (usually).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This female bighorn sheep is an example of a\u00a0female having smaller\u00a0horns.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Male bighorns can actually be aged by counting the growth rings (annuli) on their horns. At this angle we can see three distinct growth rings on his left horn. Determining age accurately is just a little bit tricky but if you’re interested in how it’s done you\u00a0may want to\u00a0visit this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n There are a few minor exceptions to some of the “rules” I’ve provided above and the pronghorn is one of them. Pronghorns have horns (made of keratin) but like antlers they’re shed annually and regrown, leaving the bony core behind in the interim.<\/p>\n Pronghorns are commonly and incorrectly called antelope (witness Antelope Island and Home On The Range – “where the deer and the antelope play”) but they aren’t at all closely related to true antelope which are all native to\u00a0the Old World. Pronghorns are the only surviving members of family Antilocapridae<\/em> and their closest living relatives are the giraffes and okapi of Africa.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ok, I’ve probably beaten this antler vs. horn thing to death but that distinction has always been an important one for me. Anyone who ever took my Utah wildlife or zoology classes at South High School and then Highland High School\u00a0definitely knew the\u00a0difference(s) before they passed my class!<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many people use the words “antlers” and “horns” interchangeably as if they’re the same thing. They are not.<\/p>\n\n
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