Ask a Naturalist: What’s the Difference Between Antlers and Horns?

Antlers and horns belong to two different biological families: Bovidae and Cervidae. Mammals who are part of the Bovidae family and include bison buffalo antelope sheep goat and other cattle. Mammals that are part of the Cervidae family and include deer moose elk caribou and other species related.

A big difference between antlers and horns is that antlers shed annually in the winter; horns do not. Animals like deer moose and elk will shed their antlers every year and grow new ones. Each time they grow new antlers they are bigger and develop more points which can also help you determine the animal’s age. During the shedding process of a deer’s antlers for example the antlers will grow back with a velvety-like layer that covers the bone. When the antlers are finished growing the deer will scrape off the velvety layer using branches and other hard surfaces. They may even lick off the scrapings from whatever they used to help assist the removal! This velvety layer is full of vitamins and nutrients so deer love to ingest it. The growth and removal of this layer is not painful for the deer just a little itchy and annoying!

Horns on the other hand do not shed and are made up of a bony core covered with a sheath of keratin. Most of the growth happens in the earlier years of the animal and slows down as they age but they do grow consistently for their entire existence. In addition antlers grow only the male animal; horns grow on both males and females!

Animals with antlers (Cervidae): Deer (top left); Elk (top right); Moose (bottom left); Reindeer (bottom left). 

Photo credits: Buck – Noppadol Paothong/MDC; Elk – Photo credit Getty Images; Moose – Ryan Hagerty/US Fish & Wildlife Service; Reindeer – Annika Thierfeld /Pexels 

Animals with horns (Bovidae): Cattle (goats cows sheep) Antelope Buffalo/Bisonn