JACKSON, Wyo. — Moose, elk and deer are sporting velvet antlers this time of year across the region.
For elk, moose and other members of the deer family, growing antlers are covered with a thick fuzz, referred to as velvet. According to Yellowstone National Park (YNP), the velvet is actually skin and a network of veins. Blood flowing in the skin deposits calcium that makes the antler. Usually around early August, further hormonal changes signal the end of antler growth, and the bulls begin scraping the velvet off, polishing and sharpening the antlers in the process.
Roughly 70% of the antler growth takes place in the last half of the growing period.
According to YNP, antler growth is triggered in spring by a combination of two factors: a depression of testosterone levels and lengthening daylight. For bull elk, antlers begin growing in March and April, as soon as they shed their old set. For moose, antler growth begins in April and May.
