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The deer are made up of about 45 species, which are characterized by a pair of antlers (generally only in males). They are spread across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. This group includes, among other species, the red deer, moose, elk (wapiti), and reindeer (caribou). The bovids are the most species-rich
Bovids range in size from the 38 cm (15 in) long royal antelope to the 3.3 m (11 ft) long gaur, which can reach 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) in weight. [1] Over a billion each of domesticated sheep , cattle , and goats , and over 200 million domesticated water buffalo , 14 million domestic yak , and 300,000 domesticated gayal are used in farming worldwide.
Antlers are considered one of the most exaggerated cases of male secondary sexual traits in the animal kingdom, [63] and grow faster than any other mammal bone. [64] Growth occurs at the tip, initially as cartilage that is then mineralized to become bone. Once the antler has achieved its full size, the velvet is lost and the antler's bone dies.
They do this as a competition for mating rights
Bone, Antler, Ivory & Horn: The Technology of Skeletal Materials Since the Roman Period. Barnes and Noble, 1985. [Reprinted 2016, Routledge] This is a scholarly monograph on the subject of horn and other skeletal materials, heavily illustrated, and with extensive academic and art-historical references.
Bovids use different forms of vocal, olfactory, and tangible communication. These involve varied postures of neck, head, horns, hair, legs, and ears to convey sexual excitement, emotional state, or alarm. One such expression is the flehmen response. Bovids usually stand motionless, with the head high and an intent stare, when they sense danger.
Antlers, complex and unique weapons that are an extension of an animal's skull, are found among male deers, as well as female reindeers, ungulates who are even-toed ruminants. [6] Horns , permanent pointed projections consisting of a covering of keratin and other proteins surrounding a core of live bone , are found commonly among bovids , as ...
The number of its horns distinguishes it from most of the other bovids, that have two horns [24] The four-horned antelope stands 55–64 centimetres (22–25 in) at the shoulder and weighs 17–22 kilograms (37–49 lb); the head-and-body length is typically between 80 and 110 centimetres (31 and 43 in). [25]