Do deer actually lose their rack or do they just shed the velvet off?

Question: Please explain if the deer actually lose their antlers and grow them back or if they just shed the velvet off of them thanks

Answer: Antlers (for deer, elk and moose) serve one function: a display of dominance. In the fall, during the "rut" (mating season), this will be the ultimate display of a bucks (or bull, for elk and moose) physical prowess. The younger he is, the smaller it is, but each season, it will grow a little more. it can take on nearly any form, but the most common is the "typical" rack for deer, where there will be a tall center stalk, with smaller points branching off, and will be more or less symmetrical. A non-typical rack is almost roandom, and can have as many as 60 "points". During the rut, the rack is an instant warning to younger, less experienced bucks, or older, weaker and wiser, that this is HIS territory, and the doe's will use this as a reference to the bucks health and strength. Much like rams, bull, and oxen, the deer will use these antlers to fight other males, each trying to force the other into submission. One particular fight stands out, as two bucks locked horns, permanently, and died of exposure and exhaustion. The pair were found shortly thereafter by a hunter (somewhere in texas, I believe), and they were eventually mounted in the "locked position", and I saw it on display at a gun/knife show when I was a kid. After the mating season is over, the racks really serve no purpose, and they fall off in late winter, early spring, although experts are not really sure why they fall off, instead of just growing out more, like a bulls horns would (the distinction is that a horns are more or less permanent, while antlers are temporary) As a buck matures (a deer will be at his peak between 7-9 years old, but may live as long as 15 or 16), the main branch will continue to get taller and thicker each year, and sport new tines each season, and, as he gets older, just like human hair, it will slowly start to recede. The buck will still regrow antlers every year, but they will get slightly smaller as time goes by. Other things that are believed to effect the growth of antlers is overall health, as well as climate, population density and the quality of the food supply.

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