European fallow deer: photo, description, lifestyle

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

This gentle and beautiful animal can often be seen in the gardens and parks of many European countries. In places where they are not hunted, these beautiful living creatures are very trusting of people. However, both in hunting farms and in the wild, they are also less careful than other members of this family.

The article will focus on an animal called the European fallow deer.

Their habitat is the most diverse. They can be found in various parts of the earth. Although their historical homeland is the region of Mesopotamia (between the Tigris and Euphrates).

A bit of the story of the fallow deer

In ancient times, the desert landscapes of Iraq had a completely different climate. Then there were subtropical forests. According to the remains that have survived today (the regions of the mountains of Northern Iraq and Southern Iran), one can judge the habitats of the Persian fallow deer.

During the heyday of the Roman Empire, the first fallow deer were taken from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean, the subsequent descendants of which acquiredthese lands a new home. It is known that not only Rome contributed to the appearance of this animal on new lands. There is documentary evidence that the pharaohs of ancient Egypt also carried out successful activities to resettle this beautiful deer on the northern coasts of Africa.

From the 20th century, the fallow deer has become a common animal species in many parts of the world.

European fallow deer description

Fallow deer belongs to the deer family. The animal is of medium size: its height at the withers is from 85 to 100 cm (adult males), the body length reaches approximately 140 cm. Live weight is 100 kg, but females are slightly smaller than males. The European subspecies reaches a length of up to 175 cm. The length of its tail is 20 cm, height is from 80 to 105 centimeters. Some of them weigh up to 110 kg (males).

What is the difference between doe and deer? The difference is this: it is lighter and smaller than the red deer, but much larger than the roe deer; has a shorter neck and limbs and a more muscular body than the red deer. The doe is inferior to other deer in dexterity, speed of running and ability to jump.

This animal has a wide head in the frontal part, sharply tapering to the nasal mirror, long pointed ears and huge dark brown eyes. All this gives her a special charm. Compared to other types of deer, the fallow deer (see photo below) has a thicker body, shorter ears and a shorter neck.

The color of the animal changes depending on the seasons. During the summer, the upper sideand the tip of the tail are painted reddish-brown with white spots, and the lower body and legs are lighter. The head, neck and ears are dark brown in winter, while the sides and back become almost black. The abdominal part of the body at this time is ash-gray. There are both white and black types of fallow deer. Young fallow deer are variegated, spotted.

How did it all start?

The European fallow deer is a very beautiful and small deer, brought in the century before last from the Mediterranean countries to Askania-Nova (reserve).

In the 20th century (from the 40s to the 60s), European fallow deer were brought to the hunting grounds of some regions of Ukraine to increase the fauna of ungulates and their rational use in the future as hunting and game animals.

Habitat

The predominantly European fallow deer keeps mixed and broad-leaved forests in the foothills and plains with the most diverse vegetation and necessarily shallow snow cover in winter.

Usually grazing in small herds, fallow deer roam the forest clearings and forest edges during the daytime. They feed on herbaceous plants, young shoots and leaves of deciduous shrubs and trees. Fallow deer also strip the bark more than they can cause considerable damage to the forest.

The peculiarity and disadvantage of keeping fallow deer in a mild European climate is the need for feeding and protection from predators. Such constant guardianship makes it possible to maintain a high density of this species almost everywhere.

In general, the European fallow deer demonstrates excellent adaptability to existence in different climate conditions (tropics and moderately cold). It can be said that the only factor that limits fallow deer migration to more distant northern areas is the depth of the snow cover, which is associated with unsuccessful cases of acclimatization in some places, for example, in the northern regions of Russia and the countries of Scandinavia.

Lifestyle

The lifestyle of this animal is similar to that of the red deer, but the fallow deer is less cautious and shy. She is not inferior in agility and speed to the red deer.

The European fallow deer is a herd animal. Females usually stay in family groups in summer. Old males walk in herds of several heads or singly, only from August they form small herds (about 10 individuals), joining the females. In spring (April), the horns of old males are shed, and the new ones, formed in August, are cleared of skin.

Food

Deer is a ruminant, herbivore. Their food is the leaves of trees and shrubs and grass.

Fallow deer and berries, acorns, mushrooms, chestnuts, etc. As noted above, sometimes deer (see photo below) feed on tree bark and young shoots of maple, mountain ash, aspen, hornbeam, but the damage from this not as big as red deer.

Concluding the horns

The main decoration of male fallow deer is magnificent horns, which differ in their shape from other varieties of deer. Every hornat the top it is expanded in the form of a "blade" with the presence of several processes. Below this "blade" there are 2-3 more branches.

The older the animal, the more perfect the horns. Among hunting trophies, these unique beautiful horns rightfully occupy a special place.