Why do moose have horns?
Moose don’t have horns. They are antlered mammals, much like elk or deer. The difference between horns and antlers is that antlers will typically be grown and fall off annually, whereas horns will grow only once. There are several reasons that moose have antlers. First, when the antlers grow and develop in the warmer months of the year, the antlers are covered in a fine velvet that is soft to the touch. Underneath the velvet flows a system of arteries and veins that circulate blood throughout the antlers. this acts as a cooling mechanism for the moose, keeping it cool in the hot months of summer. When the weather begins to cool down in fall, the moose will shed their velvet, with much bleeding, in order to turn their antlers into weapons. using trees and other objects as sharpening devices, moose peel the velvet from their antlers and sharpen their antlers in order to use them as a defense against predators and as a tool for finding a mate.
