Antler

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/antler

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific family?Cervidae
2. What is the composition?Living bone tissue, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels
3. What are antlers and how are they different from horns?Antlers are bone outgrowths that grow on the skull of deer and fall off each year. Horns are made of keratin and stay on the animal forever.
4. Why do deer grow antlers every year?They grow in spring to help males show their health and fight for mates during the breeding season. After the rut, they shed the antlers so they are lighter when food is scarce.

Pedicle: The permanent bony base on the skull from which antlers grow and detach.
Velvet: The vascularized skin covering that nourishes growing antlers and is shed before the rut.
Sexual Selection: A mode of natural selection where traits that increase mating success become more common.
Intraspecific Combat: Aggressive interactions between individuals of the same species, often for mating rights or territory.