What is the term for the vascularized, fuzzy skin covering antlers during their spring and summer growth phase?
Answer
Velvet
When antlers begin their rapid annual regrowth cycle during the spring and summer months, they are not immediately bare bone. Instead, they are covered by a specialized layer of skin known as velvet. This velvet is highly vascularized, meaning it is rich in blood vessels and supplied with nerves. Its primary biological function is to supply the necessary nutrients, blood flow, and oxygen directly to the growing bone tissue, facilitating the extremely fast rate of skeletal development required for the rack to reach full size by late summer or early autumn.
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