Antler or Horn

Calling back to hunting traditions of old, community members gathered to welcome the noble hunter and his recent kill. The bull elk had been shot earlier that day, dropping the number of public elk harvests possible down to only four more this year. I had joined the crowd that accumulated in the town of Namakagon to congratulate him. There was a great deal of excited storytelling on that sunny yet brisk Sunday afternoon--as well as plenty of neighborly conversation and good food.

Randy Besonen is one of a limited few to legally harvest a Clam Lake
elk since an elk hunt was established last year. Photo by Koal Shanks.

While I readily partook in the latter, I personally cared little to hear about the demise of the large cervid. I encounter enough recently departed animals through my line of work and admit that I still get squeamish at times. Instead, I fell into my comfort zone with an exchange regarding the difference between horns and antlers. 

Was I shocked to hear more than one person refer to the elk's antlers as horns that day? Not exactly. Both are similarly structured at a glance and I understand the superficial confusion. But antlers and horns grow differently and have distinct functions. 

Antlers are characteristic of animals in the deer (Cervidae) family. This includes their elk and moose relatives that we're familiar with here. Antlers are actually made of bone. They're high in protein and water content during early development, and are covered in "velvet"--a network of blood vessels and nerves that later dies and falls off as the antler develops into hard bone. 

The Museum has a number of specimens of white-tailed deer. Above,
a deer skull with antlers attached points to the fact that the deer died during
breeding season. Below, the velvet of a antler looks similar to fur or hair.

Males (both male and female caribou) develop antlers specifically for the breeding season--attracting females or quarreling among other male suitors. I like to think of antlers as the more decorative of cranial protrusions. Alas, antlers eventually shed and the whole process begins anew next year if the animal survives through hunting season. 

I reckon that everyone out that day got a good look at the bull elk's antlers that poked out of the pickup truck. We wouldn't regularly encounter animal horns in the wilds of Namakagon, though. 

Horns occur in exotic species like water buffalo and wildebeest, but also grow on domestic cattle, sheep, and goats. The Museum displays a specimen of an American bison skull that's a great example of what a horn may look like. Horns differ greatly in size, shape, and color depending on the species of animal. While varied, they never branch like antlers do. They also never shed. A horn is composed of a bone-like core which grows permanently and almost continuously. From specialized hair follicles, a keratin sheath grows to cover that core. Without a core and sheath, a structure is not a true horn. 

This American bison was humanely euthanized and the skull and horns
are now displayed at the Museum. Below, a sheath of a bison horn
was removed to demonstrate the structure. 

Horns may be used during breeding season similarly to antlers. Furthermore, they're quite hardy and become incredibly useful while fighting off predators or rivals. 

Making my point on antlers and horns as concise as possible, I followed the conversation as it flowed to other large animals at the Museum, and finally to completely unrelated topics. It was a good day to be out in the community. And while I couldn't help but mourn that elk, at least I didn't have to hear one more person compliment its "horns."