Antlers are one of the most extravagant additions to an animal. The male ungulates (hoofed animals) that roam these lands use much of their energy to grow these appendages to help up their game in finding a mate. Once those antlers drop, they turn into a different type of prize for some local critters, including shed hunters all over Colorado.

The antlers that weigh heavy on our deer, elk, and moose are not easy to make, and yet they are shed and regrown every year. These bony accessories are the fastest-growing tissue in the natural world.

Antler growth begins with a bone bud popping out on the pedicel of the animal. It’s covered with an organ called “velvet” which is full of blood vessels that facilitate the rapid formation of the antlers. The growth usually only takes 80-150 days.

As the day length shortens, blood flow to the velvet is cut off. It then dries up and falls off the calcified antlers to become a tasty snack for some smaller critter (or sometimes for the antlered animal itself). Once fully grown, these antlers offer a showy display for prospective females during mating season and are a tool for defense in times of high competition. Due to the heaviness and huge size, the deer, elk, and moose will drop off these antlers when conditions become stressful in the winter. The cycle then starts again.

These incredible abandoned crowns have become a prize for the shed hunters of Colorado, but they must be harvested responsibly. Shed hunters usually hunt for their trophies in known wintering areas where these hoofed beasts rest, which could cause undue stress while they work to survive in snowy environments. To protect many animals and their habitats, Colorado Parks and Wildlife prohibits shed hunting on public land west of I-25 from January 1 to April 30. Reducing human disturbances in the winter helps ungulates survive harsh conditions until things get easier in the spring.

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Some may think that these fallen bones just remain in forests where they have dropped, but as usual, nature is resourceful. Only a small portion of antlers that fall are found by hunters; the rest become a nutritious meal for other wild animals.

Antlers are rich in calcium, phosphorus, and protein. This attracts a wide variety of animals like coyotes, foxes, and even sometimes black bears trying to grab a chew toy or some more minerals. Rodents are the biggest fans of these sheds for their dental needs: gnawing the antlers helps wear down their ever-growing teeth.

Wild animals aren’t the only ones who love to wind down with an antler chew. Antlers have become a popular treat for dogs in our homes because they are durable, mineral-rich, and relatively safe. The sheds are great for wearing out your energetic pup with mental stimulation, and they can help scrape the plaque off of their teeth. (Keep in mind that antlers are more than twice as tough as regular bone, so voracious chewers risk damaging their teeth.) Tracking down the source of an antler chew toy can be hard, but most claim to be gathered by shed hunters or collected from deer and elk farms.

Nature’s crazy phenomenon of devoting so much energy to a temporary ornament is an important part of the ecosystem, providing benefits to many animals on the forest floor. As always, be mindful and follow CPW and Forest Service regulations while in nature to help protect the majestic hooved animals that depend on the peaceful habitats of Colorado’s plains and mountains.

Alice Dwyer is a naturalist at Walking Mountains who loves to admire the deer, elk and moose of Eagle County from a safe distance.