Animals employ horns for a variety of purposes. Others use their horns to battle other members of their species, while some use them to defend themselves against predators.
Animals with horns may use their horns for purposes other than assault and defense, such as digging for food in the ground or removing tree bark.
Horn blood channels may also be used in mating rituals. They help regulate the animal’s body temperature.
Only males of most species develop horns, but females also do in a few rare species.
Horns can be little and straight or long and twisted, appearing in different sizes and shapes.
Now that that is said, which animals have the largest horns in the world?
In our post, we will consider animals with horns. So get out your tape measures, because we are about to dive into this topic.
Let’s go!
1. Ankole-Watusi
The Ankole-Watusi breed of domestic cattle is first on our list of animals with horns. All Ankole-Watusis can trace their ancestry back to the African Sanga cattle.
They combined two terms to create their name. They are referred to as “ankole” in Uganda and “watusi” by the Tutsi population of Burundi.
The present breed, however, didn’t develop until the 1960s, when Sanga cattle were crossbred with a domestic variety from Canada.
Due to their novelty, these animals with horns are still uncommon, with only about 1,500 members as of 2016.
The majority of Ankole-Watusis have reddish-brown skin with patches or mottling of white.
Males normally weigh between 992 and 1609 pounds, whereas girls weigh somewhat less.
Their enormous horns are by far the thing that makes them stand out. Any domestic cattle breed, Ankole-Watusis, has the widest horn spread.
Their spread can extend up to 40.7 inches from point to point, and each horn can grow to 37.5 inches.
2. Alpine Ibex
The wild species of mountain goat known as the alpine ibex is sometimes called the steinbock, Capra ibex, or simply ibex.
Although these animals with horns were on the verge of extinction in the 19th century, they are found throughout the European Alps.
Despite being friendly, they frequently gather in groups based on sex and age.
Males typically weigh between 148 and 258 pounds and are between 35 and 40 inches tall at the shoulder.
These animals with horns can survive at high altitudes thanks to their thick, brownish-gray coat.
Alpine ibexes have several ridges throughout their length, a rearward curve, and horn growth on both sexes. The horns on males, however, get much bigger.
They can grow up to 39 inches long from base to tip at its longest.
The male Alpine ibexes are among the animals with the largest horns in the world, and they are most prone to engage in horn dueling for prospective partners.
3. Gemsbok
One of three African species of the oryx genus, the gemsbok, sometimes known as the gemsbuck, can be found in the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa on grasslands, savannas, and flat or hilly terrain.
They have all they need to survive in their dry, hot environment.
The addax belongs to the family of spiral-horned antelopes and is often referred to as the white antelope or the screw-horn antelope.
Despite being native to the Sahara Desert, few still live in the wild because of unrestrained hunting.
As a result, the IUCN rates these animals with horns as Critically Endangered, and the majority of the remaining individuals currently reside in zoos or preserves.
Males typically weigh between 220 and 276 pounds and stand 41 to 45 inches tall, while females are often shorter.
Their coat changes from gray-brown in the winter to white or blonde in the summer.
The addax is still among the animals with the largest horns in the world despite being almost extinct.
Both sexes develop horns and bows with one to two loops. Male horns can grow up to 43 inches long, while female horns normally develop from 22 to 31 inches long.
4. Sable
Among the many huge African antelope species is the sable, one of the proud horned mammals.
Both sexes have stunning black and white markings on their intimidating knife-like horns.
Sable antelope are crucial to their surroundings because they are browsers and grazers. These animals with horns are also crucial as prey for carnivores.
The enormous sable antelope is ranked as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
According to reports, there were just 300 residents in 2021, 100 of whom lived inside Cangandala National Park.
However, men tend to be darker, whereas women and children tend to have softer shades of chestnut. Sable horns can grow up to 154 centimeters in length.
5. Scimitar Oryx
One of the four remaining oryx species, the scimitar oryx, is found all over Africa.
The scimitar oryx, also known as the scimitar-horned oryx, was declared extinct in the wild in 2000.
A tiny number, though, continue to exist in well-guarded preserves and zoos worldwide.
Scimitar oryxes are distinct from other oryxes because they lack dark facial and leg markings and have curved horns instead of straight ones.
These animals with horns have a coat primarily white or beige, which keeps them cool in the scorching desert sun.
They can reach a maximum height of 3.3 feet, with males slightly taller than females.
Horns, up to 47 inches long, are grown by both sexes. Scimitar oryxes are antelopes with straight horns.
However, their horns are radically curled, with a scimitar-like curve, which is how they got their name.
6. Bharal
According to reliable sources, the Bharal, one of the proud animals with horns, is also known as the Himalayan blue sheep because of the bluish hue of its fur.
We spent some time online watching videos of Bharals out of journalistic interest, and regrettably, we can’t swear that this sheep is genuinely blue.
However, It does possess excellent horns. The Bharal has exceptionally broad and easy horns, often wider and smoother than narrow, knobbly goat horns.
The elk, often called the wapiti, is the second-largest animal in the deer family, behind the moose.
7. Jackson’s Chameleon
Although endemic to the mountains of East Africa, Jackson’s chameleon can now be found across the Hawaiian islands, most likely because of the peculiar pet trade.
Male Jackson’s chameleons are sometimes referred to as three-horned chameleons because they have three brown horns—one on the snout (the rostral horn), one over each superior orbital ridge above the eyes (the preocular horns), similar to the ceratopsid dinosaur genus Triceratops.
Jackson’s Chameleons are among the most common chameleons kept as pets.
Jackson’s Chameleons are an excellent choice for chameleon beginners as well as seasoned reptile lovers.
The horns on its head are genuine bone horns, similar to those on an addax, markhor, or giant eland, and it uses them for the same purpose: thrusting at competing males during the breeding season.
8. Nubia Ibex
This is the next on our list of animals with horns. The massive, backward-curling horns of the Nubian ibex are even more impressive when you consider that the ibex uses them to smash into male opponents when on high, frightening mountains in North Africa and Arabia.
Don’t be offended if you see the Nubian variety instead. There are various types of ibex, and it’s uncertain whether they’re all members of the same species.
9. Markhor
The markhor is the next animal on our list with horns. It is a mountain creature native to Central Asia that climbs steep outcrops with the grace of a mountain goat.
Because of hunting for its spectacular corkscrewed horns, which can reach lengths of more than five feet, just an estimated 2,500 survive in the wild.
It’s critically endangered, with an estimated 2,500 remaining in the wild.
This is owing in part to the hunt for its astonishingly magnificent corkscrewed horns, which can grow to be more than 5 feet long.
10. Cow
Some cows have horns, whereas others have not, for two reasons. While horns are a natural component of the animal, huge horned cows can be a nuisance for farmers.
A cow with a prominent set of horns may damage other cows in the herd or injure itself if the horns snag on a fence or gate.
Because of the risk of harm, farmers prefer cows without horns. Cattle horns were traditionally removed while young, a process known as disbudding.
Recent genetic discoveries, however, mean that certain types of cows can be developed that are born without horns.
Cattle without horns are born by selecting hornless bulls and crossing them with female cows, resulting in a high likelihood that the offspring will likewise be hornless.
11. Mouflon
The mouflon is said to be the ancestor of our fashionable, well-known domestic sheep.
During domestication, the mouflon lost its magnificent horns and nice muscular curving loops, making you wonder why “sheep” could have meek connotations.
The mouflon is a wild sheep native to Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, eastern Turkey, and Cyprus.
All modern domestic sheep breeds are said to be descended from it.
Reddish to dark brown coats with dark back stripes, black ventral areas, and white saddle patches characterize short-haired mouflons. Males have horns, while females have polls, and some have horns.
12. Goat
This is the next on our list of animals with horns. Goat horns are quite powerful and for a good reason.
The core comprises thick, living bone from the goat’s skull.
A coating of keratin covers this bone. Keratin is a protein found in hair, fingernails, hooves, and claws.
This combination enables the goat to violently butt and jab with its horns.
Contrary to popular assumption, male and female goats both have horns! Female goats have smaller horns than males, but they are still large enough to cause injury.
If goats of different sexes are not standing side by side, onlookers may have difficulty distinguishing them based on this trait.
The horn’s outer layer is mainly pain-insensitive. The bone beneath, on the other hand, houses blood, arteries, tissue, and nerves.
Any injury to the horn can cause discomfort, and attempts to remove the horn can be excruciating for the goat.
13. Rhinoceros
This is the last on our list of animals with horns. A rhinoceros, sometimes known as a rhino, is any of the five current species of odd-toed ungulates in the Rhinocerotidae family and numerous extinct species.
Two living species are African, and three are from Southern Asia.
Although rhinos are frequently polite and reserved, they are not pacifists.
When they feel threatened, they usually charge to eliminate the perceived threat by positioning their bodies in an attack position.
Rhinos were historically found all over Europe, Asia, and Africa.
