A male reindeer's transformation from December to February. This, it turns out, is one of those questions that is really simple to answer. Your cousin would be right in saying, with most deer, only the males have antlers. The second type is a female deer with polished antlers. Reindeer antlers are among the largest of any deer species, and unusually they are present on both males and females. Your science teacher was correct. Antlers are branched paired structured extensions to the anterior bone of the skull in mammals from deer family (Cervidae). Whilst cattle horns have living tissue in the core, the antlers of reindeer are made of dead tissue and are regularly shed. Antlers are made of bone, typically branched, and shed every year. When female caribou do have antlers, they're generally nowhere near as big as the males' antlers. Keeping their antlers throughout the winter ensures they are able to compete for food while pregnant. They do. Reindeer antlers are among the largest of any deer species, and unusually they are present on both males and females. Reindeer is the general English (native to England) term for the wild Caribou. This animal is actually a male “pseudo-hermaphrodite.” It has the external genitalia of a female, but has male sex organs internally. Domestic caribou are almost always called reindeer, from the fact that they look like deer, and are often used in sleigh teams and other occupations that require them to be on reins. Male and female. Antlers! Do Female Deer Have Antlers: Reasons why Not All Female Deer Have Antlers though all male Deer Have Antlers Except Those Who Are Castrated at Their Tender Age?. Female reindeer retain their antlers until they give birth to their young in the spring. Nevertheless, fertile does from other species of deer have the capacity to produce antlers on occasion, usually due to increased testosterone levels. Care to elaborate? Male deer do have antlers and are known as bucks while female deer are known as does. Yes. Yes, reindeer are the only deer in which both sexes have antlers. Male antlers also aren't as linear in growth as female antlers. The male's are larger and more elaborate, but theirs are shed in late autumn, after the rut. They do. In most deer, that means the males have antlers and the females don't, barring anomalies. No, only male deer have antlers although it is extremely rare to have a female deer with antlers. 2. A Google search took me to the website of the San Diego Zoo – specifically to their page on Reindeer, or Rangifer tarandus. Your cousin would be right in saying, with most deer, only the males have antlers. In male reindeer, new ones start growing in February; in females, May. Why Do Reindeer Shed Their Antlers? Horns are made of a bony core with a keratin sheath, not branched, and are a permanent part of an animal. Sure. You might be able to tell that a caribou is female simply by her lack of antlers.