the.com/antler
the only mammal organ that grows, dies, and resurrects on an annual budget
means The bony, branching growth on the head of a deer, elk, moose, or other cervid, shed and regrown each year (unlike a horn, which stays put).
from From Old French 'antoillier,' the brow-tine of a stag — the part that sits 'before the eye.' The trail leads back to a presumed Latin 'ante ocularem,' literally 'before the eye,' though the exact Latin form is reconstructed rather than recorded. English borrowed it in the 1400s, and over time the single brow-tine lent its name to the whole magnificent crown.
- growth speed
- fastest-growing bone tissue known, up to inches daily
- velvet
- living skin sheds in bloody strips when done
- true bone
- unlike horns, fully shed and regrown yearly
- calcium debt
- deer leach calcium from skeleton to build them
- regeneration secret
- studied to help humans regrow lost limbs
moose antlers — alaskan moose grow up to 6.5 feet wide and weigh 40 pounds, largest of any deer species
elk antler auctions — jackson hole, wyoming auctions sell shed antlers annually, 2023 record: $2,000+ per pound
red deer antlers — scottish highlands: red stags regrow antlers yearly, up to 40 points, basis of trophy hunting industry