Transcript Reindeer.Antlers

Reindeer Antlers
Through the Seasons
PATTERNS IN NATURE
Reindeer Antlers
 Antlers are different from horns.
Horns are not
shed. Antlers are shed each year. New ones grow in
their place. The only kind of female deer that has
antlers is the reindeer.
Autumn
 The cleaning of the velvet from the antlers signals
the start of the mating season when the bulls use
their antlers for display and to fight for supremacy.
Two males circle each other, bend their back legs,
lower their heads and charge. Dominant bulls will
hold harems of cows.
Autumn
 Both the cows and calves have also finished growing
their antlers. They too will now clean off the velvet
in which the antlers have grown.
Autumn
 The lighter colored winter coat begins to show
through the dark summer coat. Mushrooms are an
added bonus to their diet at this time of year.
Winter
 The large, mature, breeding bulls are the first to lose
their antlers in November at the end of the rutting
season. When snow is lying on the ground, reindeer
use their hooves to dig down to the lichens below.
Winter
 Their thick winter coats, which are very much lighter
in color, are good insulation against the harsh
climate.
Winter
 The reindeer cows and their young, keep their
antlers throughout the winter months, using them to
compete against each other for food.
Spring
 Reindeer calves are born in May. They are able to
walk and follow their mothers as soon as they are
born. Cows and calves call each other with low
grunting noises.
Spring
 The reindeer’s antlers are growing fast now. Food is
abundant now with the newly growing leaves, grass
shoots and shrubs.
Spring
 As the daylight hours lengthen to mid-summer, the
reindeer begin to lose their winter coats.
Summer
 The reindeer have long velvet covered antlers and
their coats look sleek with short, dark fur. Even the
calves born in May have started to grow their first set
of antlers.
Summer
 During the hot, sunny days, flies and mosquitoes
torment the reindeer. The combination of biting
insects and hot, windless days drive the reindeer
onto the snow patches still remaining from the
previous winter.
Summer
 The lichen is dry and inedible now. The reindeer are
feeding on woody plants, grasses, sedges, and rushes.
Reindeer Antlers Through the Season
Winter
Males have lost their antlers.
Females and babies keep theirs.
Spring
The female reindeer lose their antlers
after they calf. Now all the reindeer
are growing their new antlers which
are covered with velvet.
Autumn
All the reindeer are cleaning the
velvet from their antlers.
Summer
All the reindeer have long velvet
covered antlers.