What is the function of the velvet covering antlers during summer growth?
Answer
It is a vascularized skin that supplies nutrients.
During the summer growth phase, antlers are not yet fully mature bone structure; they are actively growing and are covered by a specialized layer known as velvet. This velvet is rich in blood vessels and is highly vascularized, meaning its primary biological role is infrastructural: it supplies the necessary nutrients, oxygen, and metabolic resources required for the rapid ossification and enlargement of the underlying bony structure. Once the antlers reach their full intended size by late summer or early fall, blood flow ceases, the velvet dries up, and the deer rubs it off to reveal the hard, polished bone beneath.
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