Why do Moose antlers fall off? Rare viral video sparks widespread interest

Nature has been a fascinating and educating entity and the newest fascination are mooses. Recently, someone shared rare footage of the Canadian native animal shedding its antlers during winters and the video has taken the internet by a storm.

The footage was caught by a Ring floodlight camera in Houston, Alaska. Tyra and Chance Bogert shared the footage of the incredible moment the animal lost its antlers. The video can be seen below.

Chance told Newsweek, in an interview that he knew the footage was rare as none of his hunting friends have ever seen anything like it. He said:

"I knew it was rare because all my hunting friends said they've never seen it in real life, let alone being caught on video."

He also shared another video showing off the antler's impressively large size.

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Moose shed their antlers in the winter

Members of the deer family, including the moose, grow antlers that are not infused with their skulls. They annually shed them during the winter for several reasons.

Only male members of the species grow antlers and their growth is regulated by the amount of testosterone in their bodies.

A Bull moose as seen in its natural habitat during peak breeding season (Image via Getty for National Geography)

Casting off the heavy antlers lets the animals shed around 60 pounds of weight, enabling them to conserve more energy through the cold winters. According to Lee Kantar, a biologist with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in Maine, these animals like to push their antlers against each other to assert dominance.

However, since it is not essential to them and is not used as a weapon, they can afford to shed their heavy horns after breeding season is over. Antlers are appealing to females of the species with the biggest set of antlers being the ones with the most chances of successfully breeding that season.

(Image via Getty/Ryan Hagerty)

They are one of the fastest growing tissues of animals with almost 20 centimeters of growth within a span of nine days. The testosterone levels are at their peak during the months of September, which enables the velvet fall, and the horns to harden.

According to National Geographic, Cells called osteoclasts to break down bone cells that attach the antler to the skull, while osteoblasts will start building them up in the spring.

The velvet shedding process is considered to be painful for the large animal (Image via Getty/Sarek National Park)

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The video of the moose shedding their antlers has garnered over 2.6 million likes and over 18.5 million views on TikTok for its fascinating phenomenon that has never been witnessed before.