Page 50 - Present Day Wildlife_Float

Deer or true deer are a large collection of hooved herbivorous mammals. With the exception of
the Musk Deer and the Mouse deer, all true deer belong to the family Cervidae. The Musk and Mouse
deer belong to the families, Tragulidae and Moschidae, and are not true deer. True deer are split into
two subfamilies, Cervinae, or the Old World deer, which has 8 genera containing the Giant muntjac,
Tufted deer, fallow, Elk and red dear. The second subfamily Capreolinae, or the New World deer, has
11 genera containing, Moose, Caribou/reindeer, and brocket deer. Except for Antarctica and Austral-
ia, which have no native deer, deer are found on every continent and most will usually have several
species of deer living in harmony with one another, though Africa has only one native deer, the Barba-
ry stag. Deer come in all shapes and sizes
with the largest believed to be the Moose,
which stands around 2 to 3 metres tall and
weighs around 700 to 800 kg. The smallest
is the ‘northern’ Pudu which is a mere 32 to
35 cm at the shoulder and weighs 3 to 4 kg.

Its antlers are the deer’s most distin-
guishing and celebrated feature. With the
exception of the Water deer, all male deer
have antlers. Female deer, except for the
Reindeer, do not have antlers. However,
occasionally some females like the Europe-
an roe deer, red deer, and white-tailed
deer will grow antlers, but these are usually
short and often crude representations of
the males. The deer’s antlers are shed once
a year and are replaced in time for the rut-
ting season. Primarily, the deer’s antlers are used to impress females and the male uses them as a dis-
play of his virility and strength. However, they also use them as a weapon. During the rutting season a
male deer will watch over several females guarding them jealously and using his antlers to fight if chal-
lenged by another male. These fights last until one animal is exhausted and retreats. The deer’s antlers
are also used to ward off or attack predators like wolves and lions. Deer are herding animals and few
predators will risk injury, by attacking a herd of adult deer. Instead the predator will stalk and goad
the deer, with snarls and growls, in the hope that one will become detached or stray from the herd. Of-
ten the herd retaliates, and with its antlers lowered, will attack the predator, and albeit temporary,
drive it off. During the rutting season male deer are highly strung and this makes them dangerous. Hu-
mans who venture to close could find themselves facing a charging deer determined to do damage.

Deer are scattered across all continents, with Eurasia housing the most species and North Ameri-
ca, having the highest number of large deer species. Europe has the smallest number and those regions
with no native deer, like Australia, have had species introduced. The habitats they reside in are di-
verse. Most can be found, in large or small herds, roaming large grassland, local open areas, usually in
close proximity to deciduous or coniferous forests. Some like the solitary, Asian muntjacs, are rarely
seen outside dense forest areas while others like the caribou can be found exclusively in the Arctic tun-
dra and boreal forests found in both North America and Eurasia. These wide and diverse environ-
ments, from the cold north to the hot sunny south, have produced a variety of different coloured coats,
in shades of deep browns and reds. The tufted deer, living in the cold north of China, can have a very
dark chocolate brown coat, and in the sunny Caribbean, the brocket deer, a grey to light reddish brown
coat. Some species like the chital, fallow deer and sika deer, living in sunnier climates, have white
spots on a light brown or deep red coat. Deer moult twice a year, and deer with thin summer coats, like
the red deer, will regrow a dense brown winter coat, the shade of brown determined by the strength
and brightness of the sun in that region.

Deer are primarily herbivores, feeding on foliage, grasses, sedges, forbs, shrubs and trees. How-
ever, the deer’s diet is low in nutrients and deer require a great deal of nutrients, especially during ant-
ler regrowth. Deer never stray far from the relative safety of a forest or woodland, but this need for nu-
trients encourages the deer to seek out recent disturbed ecosystems, possibly caused by fire or floods,
where the new healthy growth is high in nutrients. These cleared areas leave the deer exposed to fast
moving predators like mountain lions and packs of wolves. A deer spooked by a predator, will bolt
back into the forest or wooded areas and using its skill for winding through the trees and jumping, will
leap over anything that obstructs the predator, denying it the advantage of speed and allowing the deer
to escape.