Antlers-a Mineral Source inRangifer

Abstract

In a calving area on western Hardangervidda, Norway, shed antlers of female reindeer, Rangifer tarandus tarandus L., have been collected for several years. Many of these antlers have been chewed on by reindeer. In the literature antler chewing has been reported to take place on both shed and unshed antlers. Our observations support these findings. Based on the present observations it is suggested that the antlers may subserve the mineral householding of the animals under special conditions. The female reindeer has to pass through a nutritionally marginal season which often coincides with calving. Bringing the bony antlers to the calving areas seems advantageous in the maintenance of calcium balance. The growth of antlers may therefore be looked upon as part of a mineral saving strategy. The mineral stored in the antler thus represents a reserve to be used during pregnancy and lactation. This is in contrast to the common view that shedding of antlers is just waste of mineral when there is a great need for calcium.

Antlerless females among reindeer and caribou

“…It may be that poor nutrition includes mineral deficiency, which may influence mineral metabolism in the fetus or calf. The fact that reindeer frequently chew on cast antlers during summer (e.g., Wika 1982) and that almost all animals killed during winter in Snohetta and Hardangervidda had antlers that were heavily gnawed (unpublished data) may indicate that minerals are part of the food-limitation complex.…”

Spatial fidelity of skeletal remains: elk wintering and calving grounds revealed by bones on the Yellowstone landscape

“…1) and shed their antlers in late winter (March to April; Houston 1982, Feldhamer et al 2003. Shed antlers have a low probability of long-distance transport because they are heavy, awkward to move, and are of low and only sporadically important nutritional value for carnivores and ungulates large enough to move them (Wika 1982, Wald 2011. Thus, antler concentrations should be locally high in areas where bull elk reside in late winter.…”

Evolution and function of horns and hornlike organs in female ungulates

“…The suggestion that minerals are limiting also comes from Wika's ( 198213) observation that lactating reindeer females sometimes gnaw casted antlers. Wika (1982b) even suggested that their antlers may function as "mobile mineral reserves" to be consumed after shedding them while lactating in regions where such minerals are not abundant in the environment. However, it is not clear why such a bizarre and seemingly inefficient system for storing and retrieving minerals would have been employed instead of the normal mechanisms for calcium phosphate storage and mobilization in the animals' internal bones (e.g.…”