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PATTERNS IN NATURE Reindeer Antlers Through the Seasons.

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Presentation on theme: "PATTERNS IN NATURE Reindeer Antlers Through the Seasons."— Presentation transcript:

1 PATTERNS IN NATURE Reindeer Antlers Through the Seasons

2 Reindeer Antlers Antlers are different from horns. Horns are not shed. Antlers are shed each year. New ones grow in their place. The only kind of female deer that has antlers is the reindeer.

3 Autumn The cleaning of the velvet from the antlers signals the start of the mating season when the bulls use their antlers for display and to fight for supremacy. Two males circle each other, bend their back legs, lower their heads and charge. Dominant bulls will hold harems of cows.

4 Autumn Both the cows and calves have also finished growing their antlers. They too will now clean off the velvet in which the antlers have grown.

5 Autumn The lighter colored winter coat begins to show through the dark summer coat. Mushrooms are an added bonus to their diet at this time of year.

6 Winter The large, mature, breeding bulls are the first to lose their antlers in November at the end of the rutting season. When snow is lying on the ground, reindeer use their hooves to dig down to the lichens below.

7 Winter Their thick winter coats, which are very much lighter in color, are good insulation against the harsh climate.

8 Winter The reindeer cows and their young, keep their antlers throughout the winter months, using them to compete against each other for food.

9 Spring Reindeer calves are born in May. They are able to walk and follow their mothers as soon as they are born. Cows and calves call each other with low grunting noises.

10 Spring The reindeer’s antlers are growing fast now. Food is abundant now with the newly growing leaves, grass shoots and shrubs.

11 Spring As the daylight hours lengthen to mid-summer, the reindeer begin to lose their winter coats.

12 Summer The reindeer have long velvet covered antlers and their coats look sleek with short, dark fur. Even the calves born in May have started to grow their first set of antlers.

13 Summer During the hot, sunny days, flies and mosquitoes torment the reindeer. The combination of biting insects and hot, windless days drive the reindeer onto the snow patches still remaining from the previous winter.

14 Summer The lichen is dry and inedible now. The reindeer are feeding on woody plants, grasses, sedges, and rushes.

15 Reindeer Antlers Through the Season Winter Males have lost their antlers. Females and babies keep theirs. Summer All the reindeer have long velvet covered antlers. Spring The female reindeer lose their antlers after they calf. Now all the reindeer are growing their new antlers which are covered with velvet. Autumn All the reindeer are cleaning the velvet from their antlers.


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