Deer or true deer are
hoof
A hoof ( or ), plural hooves ( or ) or hoofs , is the tip of a toe
Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal
Animals (also called Metazoa) are multicellular eukaryotic organisms that form the Kingdom (biology) ...
ed
ruminant
Ruminants ( Ruminantia) are large herbivorous grazing or browsing s that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by it in a specialized prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. The process, which takes place in th ...
mammal
Mammals (from Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language
A classical language is a language
A language is a structured system of communication
Communication (from Latin ''communicare'', meaning "to share" or "to be i ...
s forming the
family
In human society
A society is a Social group, group of individuals involved in persistent Social relation, social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same Politic ...
Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the
Cervinae
The Cervinae or the Old World deer (denoting their place of origin, not their current distribution), are a subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family ...
, including the
muntjac
Muntjacs ( ), also known as barking deer or rib-faced deer are small deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Ente ...

, the
elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer
Deer or true deer are ed s forming the Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the , including the , the (wapiti), the , a ...

(wapiti), the
red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

, and the
fallow deer
''Dama'' is a genus
Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank
In biological classification
In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscrib ...

; and the
Capreolinae
The Capreolinae, Odocoileinae, or the New World deer are a subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family (biology), family but more inclusive than genu ...
, including the
reindeer
The reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus''), also known as the caribou in North America, is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North ...

(caribou),
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, Ecuador, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been int ...

, the
roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acq ...

, and the
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the Capreolinae, New World deer subfamily and is the Largest cervids, largest and heaviest extant taxon, extant species in the Cervidae, deer family. Most adult ...

. Male deer of all species (except the Chinese
water deer
The water deer (''Hydropotes inermis'') is a small deer superficially more similar to a musk deer
Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family
In human society, ...
) as well as female reindeer, grow and shed new
antler
Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the deer
Deer or true deer are ed s forming the Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the , including the , the (wapiti), the , and the ; and the , including the ( ...

s each year. In this they differ from permanently
horn
Horn usually refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various anima ...
ed
antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant
Ruminants (suborder
In biological classification, the order ( la, wikt:ordo#Latin, ordo) is
# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized by ...

, which are part of a different family (
Bovidae
The Bovidae comprise the biological family
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy; it is classified between order (biology), order and genus. A family may be divided into su ...
) within the same order of
even-toed ungulates
The even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla , ) are ungulate
Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade
A clade (; from grc, , ''klados'', "branch"), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are mon ...
(Artiodactyla).
The
musk deer
Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family
In , family (from la, familia) is a of people related either by (by recognized birth) or (by marriage or other r ...
(
Moschidae
Moschidae is a family
In human society, family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of families is to maintain the well ...
) of Asia and
chevrotain
Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small even-toed ungulates that make up the family (biology), family Tragulidae, the only extant members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 Extant taxon, extant species are placed in three genera, but several ...
s (
Tragulidae) of tropical African and Asian forests are separate families that are also in the ruminant clade
Ruminantia
Ruminantia is a taxon
In biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes, Molecular biology, molecular interactions, Physiology, ...

; they are not especially closely related to Cervidae.
Deer appear in art from
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic or Palæolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek palaios - old, lithos - stone), is a period in prehistory
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history
...
cave painting
Cave paintings are a type of parietal art
In archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. Archaeology is often considered a branch of socio-cultural anthropo ...

s onwards, and they have
played a role in mythology, religion, and literature throughout history, as well as in
heraldry
Heraldry () is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology
Vexillology () is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flag
A fla ...
, such as red deer that appear in the
. Their economic importance includes the use of their meat as
venison
Venison originally meant the meat
Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and killed animals for meat since prehistoric times. The advent of civilization allowed the domestication of animals such as chickens, sheep, ...

, their skins as soft, strong
buckskin
Buckskin may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Leather
*Buckskin (leather), leather made of buck (i.e. deer) hide
*Buckskins, an outfit of buckskin leather Horses
*Buckskin (horse), a body color of horses similar to buckskin leather, the animals also have a black ...
, and their antlers as handles for knives. Deer
hunting
Hunting is the practice of seeking, pursuing and capturing or killing wildlife
Wildlife traditionally refers to undomesticated animal
Animals (also called Metazoa) are multicellular
A multicellular organism is an organism
...

has been a popular activity since at least the Middle Ages and remains a resource for many families today.
Etymology and terminology
The word ''deer'' was originally broad in meaning, becoming more specific with time.
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family
The Indo-European languages are a language family
A language ...
''dēor'' and
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) was a form of the English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family
The Indo-European languages are a language family
A language is a structured sys ...
''der'' meant a wild animal of any kind. Cognates of Old English ''dēor'' in other dead
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to western and southern Eurasia. It comprises most of the languages of Europe together with those of the northern Indian su ...

have the general sense of ''animal'', such as
Old High German
Old High German (OHG, german: Althochdeutsch, German abbr. ) is the earliest stage of the German language
German ( Standard High German: , ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Euro ...
''tior'',
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia
Scandinavia; : ''Skades ...
''djur'' or ''dȳr'',
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken by ...
''dius'',
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, was a Germanic language
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to western and southern Eurasia. It comprises most of ...
''dier'', and
Old Frisian
Old Frisian was a West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries in the area between the Rhine
), Surselva
Surselva Region is one of the eleven administrative districts
Administrative division, administrative unitArticl ...
''diar''.
This general sense gave way to the modern English sense by the end of the Middle English period, around 1500. All modern Germanic languages save English and Scots retain the more general sense: for example, German ''Tier'' and Norwegian ''dyr'' mean ''animal''.
For many types of deer in modern English usage, the male is a ''buck'' and the female a ''doe'', but the terms vary with dialect, and according to the size of the species. The male
red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

is a ''stag'', while for other large species the male is a ''bull'', the female a ''cow'', as in cattle. In older usage, the male of any species is a ''
hart'', especially if over five years old, and the female is a ''hind'', especially if three or more years old. The young of small species is a ''fawn'' and of large species a ''
calf
A calf (plural calves) is a young domestic cow
Cow
Cattle, or cows (female) and bulls (male), are the most common type of large domesticated
Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which one group of organisms a ...
''; a very small young may be a ''kid''. A castrated male is a ''havier''. A group of any species is a ''herd''. The
adjective
In linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language
A language is a structured system of communication used by humans, including speech (spoken language), gestures (Signed language, sign language) and writing. Most langu ...
of relation is ''
cervine
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family (biology), family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, the fallow deer, and the chital; and the Capreoli ...
''; like the family name ''Cervidae'', this is from la, cervus, meaning ''stag'' or ''deer''.
Distribution

Deer live in a variety of
biome
A biome is a collection of plants
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to Energy transformation, convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respi ...
s, ranging from
tundra
In physical geography
Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the two fields of geography
Geography (from Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece
Greece ( el, Ελλάδα ...

to the
tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforests are rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy
Canopy may refer to:
Plants
* Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests)
* Canopy (grape ...

. While often associated with forests, many deer are
ecotone
An ecotone is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and gra ...
species that live in transitional areas between forests and thickets (for cover) and prairie and savanna (open space). The majority of large deer species inhabit temperate mixed deciduous forest, mountain mixed coniferous forest, tropical seasonal/dry forest, and savanna habitats around the world. Clearing open areas within forests to some extent may actually benefit deer populations by exposing the
understory
In forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and na ...
and allowing the types of grasses, weeds, and herbs to grow that deer like to eat. Access to adjacent croplands may also benefit deer. Adequate forest or brush cover must still be provided for populations to grow and thrive.
Deer are widely distributed, with indigenous representatives in all continents except Antarctica and Australia, though Africa has only one native deer, the
Barbary stag
The Barbary stag or Atlas deer (''Cervus elaphus barbarus'') is a subspecies of the red deer that is native to North Africa. It is the only deer known to be native to Africa, aside from ''Megaceroides algericus'', which went extinct approximately ...
, a subspecies of
red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

that is confined to the
Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains ( ar, جِبَال ٱلْأَطْلَس, jibāl al-ʾaṭlas /ʒibaːl al atˤlas/, Tamazight
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages (Berber name: , ; Neo-Tifinagh: ⵜⴰⵎⴰⵣⵉⵖⵜ, Tuareg Tifin ...

in the northwest of the continent. Another extinct species of deer, ''
Megaceroides algericus,'' was present in North Africa until 6000 years ago.
Fallow deer
''Dama'' is a genus
Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank
In biological classification
In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscrib ...

have been introduced to South Africa. Small species of
brocket deer
Brockets or brocket deer are the species of deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Enteric fermentation, fermenti ...
and
pudú
The pudus (Mapudungun
Mapuche () or Mapudungun (from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche
The Huilliche , Huiliche or Huilliche-Mapuche are the southern partiality of the Mapuche macroethnic gro ...

s of Central and South America, and
muntjac
Muntjacs ( ), also known as barking deer or rib-faced deer are small deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Ente ...

s of Asia generally occupy dense forests and are less often seen in open spaces, with the possible exception of the
Indian muntjac
The Indian muntjac (''Muntiacus muntjak''), also called the southern red muntjac and barking deer, is a deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutr ...
. There are also several species of deer that are highly specialized and live almost exclusively in mountains, grasslands, swamps, and "wet" savannas, or riparian corridors surrounded by deserts. Some deer have a circumpolar distribution in both North America and Eurasia. Examples include the
caribou
The reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus''), also known as the caribou in North America, is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North ...

that live in Arctic tundra and taiga (boreal forests) and
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the Capreolinae, New World deer subfamily and is the Largest cervids, largest and heaviest extant taxon, extant species in the Cervidae, deer family. Most adult ...

that inhabit
taiga
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic
Turkic may refer to:
* anything related to the country of Turkey
* Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages
** Turkic alphabets (d ...

and adjacent areas. Huemul deer (
taruca
The taruca (''Hippocamelus antisensis''), or north Andean deer, is a species of deer
Deer or true deer are ed s forming the Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the , including the , the (wapiti), the , and the ; and the , includin ...
and
Chilean huemul) of South America's
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains ( es, Cordillera de los Andes) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of Sou ...

fill the ecological niches of the
ibex
An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild mountain Capra (genus), goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved Horn (anatomy), horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in ...

and
wild goat
The wild goat or common ibex (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat
The domestic goat or simply goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope
The subfamily Caprinae is part of the ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous m ...

, with the fawns behaving more like goat kids.
The highest concentration of large deer species in temperate North America lies in the
and
Columbia Mountain regions between Alberta and British Columbia where all five North American deer species (
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, Ecuador, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been int ...

,
, caribou,
elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer
Deer or true deer are ed s forming the Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the , including the , the (wapiti), the , a ...

, and moose) can be found. This region has several clusters of national parks including
Mount Revelstoke National Park,
Glacier National Park (Canada)
Glacier National Park is part of a List of National Parks of Canada, system of 43 parks and park reserves across Canada, and one of seven national parks in British Columbia. Established in 1886, the park encompasses , and includes a portion of t ...

,
Yoho National Park
Yoho National Park ( ) is a National Parks of Canada, national park of Canada. It is located within the Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountains along the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Americas in southeastern British Columbia, bordered ...

, and
Kootenay National Park
Kootenay National Park is a national park
A national park is a park in use for Conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that ...

on the British Columbia side, and
Banff National Park
Banff National Park is Canada's oldest National Parks of Canada, national park, established in 1885. Located in Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains, west of Calgary, Banff encompasses of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice ...

,
Jasper National Park
Jasper National Park is a national park in Alberta
Alberta () is one of the thirteen of . It is part of and is one of the three . is the official language of the province. In 2016, 76.0% of Albertans were , 1.8% were and 22.2% were .
Alber ...

, and
Glacier National Park (U.S.) on the Alberta and Montana sides. Mountain slope habitats vary from moist coniferous/mixed forested habitats to dry subalpine/pine forests with alpine meadows higher up. The foothills and river valleys between the mountain ranges provide a mosaic of cropland and deciduous parklands. The rare woodland caribou have the most restricted range living at higher altitudes in the subalpine meadows and
alpine tundra
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region
A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region
In geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a field of scien ...

areas of some of the mountain ranges. Elk and mule deer both migrate between the alpine meadows and lower coniferous forests and tend to be most common in this region. Elk also inhabit river valley bottomlands, which they share with White-tailed deer. The White-tailed deer have recently expanded their range within the foothills and river valley bottoms of the Canadian Rockies owing to conversion of land to cropland and the clearing of coniferous forests allowing more deciduous vegetation to grow up the mountain slopes. They also live in the aspen parklands north of Calgary and Edmonton, where they share habitat with the moose. The adjacent
Great Plains
The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland
''Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions'' is a satire, satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott, first publi ...
grassland habitats are left to herds of elk,
American bison
The American bison or simply bison (''Bison bison''), also commonly known as the American buffalo or simply buffalo, is an American species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification, classification and a taxonomic ...

, and
pronghorn
The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl
The even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla , ) are ungulate
Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade
A clade (; from grc, , ''klados'', "branch"), also known ...

.

The
Eurasia
Eurasia () is the largest continent
A continent is any of several large landmass
A landmass, or land mass, is a large region
In geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a ...

n Continent (including the Indian Subcontinent) boasts the most species of deer in the world, with most species being found in Asia. Europe, in comparison, has lower diversity in plant and animal species. Many national parks and protected reserves in Europe have populations of red deer,
roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acq ...

, and fallow deer. These species have long been associated with the continent of Europe, but also inhabit
Asia Minor
Anatolia,, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau. also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula
A peninsula ( la, paeninsula from 'almost' and 'island') is a landform
A landform is a natural or artificial feature of ...
, the
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains,
: pronounced
* hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ,
: pronounced
* az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced
* rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ
* tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

, and Northwestern
Iran
Iran ( fa, ایران ), also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia
Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion
A subregion is a part of a larger regio ...

. "European" fallow deer historically lived over much of Europe during the Ice Ages, but afterwards became restricted primarily to the Anatolian Peninsula, in present-day Turkey.
Present-day fallow deer populations in Europe are a result of historic man-made introductions of this species, first to the Mediterranean regions of Europe, then eventually to the rest of Europe. They were initially park animals that later escaped and reestablished themselves in the wild. Historically, Europe's deer species shared their deciduous forest habitat with other herbivores, such as the extinct
tarpan
The term tarpan refers to free-ranging horses of the Russian steppe from the 18th to the 20th century. It is generally unknown whether those horses represented genuine wild horses, feral domestic horses or hybrids .The last individual believed to ...

(forest horse), extinct
aurochs
The aurochs (''Bos primigenius'') ( or ), also known as urus or ure, is an extinct cattle species that was first described in 1827. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in Holocene Europe ...

(forest ox), and the endangered
wisent
The European bison (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), or the zubr (), or colloquially the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the Am ...

(European bison). Good places to see deer in Europe include the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels
The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group
An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group) ...

, the Austrian
Alps
The Alps ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps; sl, Alpe ) are the highest and most extensive mountain range
A mountain range is a series of mountains
ranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt ...

, the wetlands between Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic and some fine National Parks, including
Doñana National Park in Spain, the
Veluwe
The Veluwe () is a forest-rich ridge of hills (1100 km2) in the province of Gelderland
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the c ...

in the Netherlands, the
Ardennes
The Ardennes ( ; french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forest
A forest is an area of land dominated b ...

in Belgium, and
Białowieża National Park of Poland. Spain, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus Mountains still have virgin forest areas that are not only home to sizable deer populations but also for other animals that were once abundant such as the wisent,
Eurasian lynx
The Eurasian lynx (''Lynx lynx'') is a medium-sized Felidae, wild cat widely distributed from Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia and Siberia, the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. It inhabits Tem ...
,
Iberian lynx
The Iberian lynx (''Lynx pardinus'') is a wild cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic
Domestic may refer to:
In the home
* Anything relating to the human home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi ...
,
wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia
Eurasia () is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, N ...

, and
brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are ...

s.
The highest concentration of large deer species in temperate Asia occurs in the mixed deciduous forests, mountain coniferous forests, and taiga bordering North Korea, Manchuria (Northeastern China), and the Ussuri Region (Russia). These are among some of the richest deciduous and coniferous forests in the world where one can find
Siberian roe deer
The Siberian roe deer or eastern roe deer (''Capreolus pygargus'') is a species of roe deer found in northeastern Asia. In addition to Siberia and Mongolia, it is found in Kazakhstan, the Tian Shan Mountains of Kyrgyzstan, eastern Tibet, the Kor ...

,
sika deer
The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to the Russ ...
, elk, and moose. Asian caribou occupy the northern fringes of this region along the Sino-Russian border.
Deer such as the sika deer,
Thorold's deer
Thorold's deer (''Cervus albirostris'')Pitraa, Fickela, Meijaard, Groves (2004). ''Evolution and phylogeny of old world deer.'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33: 880–895. is a Threatened species, threatened species of deer found in grass ...
,
Central Asian red deer
The Central Asian red deer (''Cervus hanglu'') is a deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Enteric fermentation, ...
, and elk have historically been farmed for their antlers by
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese (), or the Han people (), is an East Asian
East Asia is the east
East is one of the four cardinal direction
The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the directions north
North is one of the four ...
,
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are a collection of ethnic groups of Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, North Asia, North and West Asia as well as parts of Europe and North Africa, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples w ...
,
Tungusic peoples
Tungusic peoples are an ethno-linguistic group formed by the speakers of Tungusic languages
The Tungusic languages (also known as Manchu-Tungus and Tungus) form a language family spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria by Tungusic peoples. Many T ...
,
Mongolia
Mongolia (, mn, Монгол Улс, Mongol Uls, Mongolian script, Traditional Mongolian: '; literal translation, lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia") is a landlocked country in East Asia. It is bordered by Russia Mongolia–Russia ...

ns, and
Koreans
Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , , ; see names of Korea
There are various names of Korea in use today, all derived from ancient kingdoms and dynasties. The modern English name "Korea
Korea (officially the "Korean Peninsula") ...
. Like the
Sami people
Places
* Sápmi
(, smj, Sábme / Sámeednam, sma, Saepmie, sju, Sábmie, , , : Соаме ''Soame'') is the traditionally inhabited by the . Sápmi is in and includes the northern parts of , also known as the "".
The region stretches ...
of Finland and Scandinavia, the Tungusic peoples, Mongolians, and Turkic peoples of Southern Siberia, Northern Mongolia, and the Ussuri Region have also taken to raising semi-domesticated herds of Asian caribou.
The highest concentration of large deer species in the tropics occurs in Southern Asia in India's Indo-Gangetic Plain Region and Nepal's Terai Region. These fertile plains consist of tropical seasonal moist deciduous, dry deciduous forests, and both dry and wet savannas that are home to
chital
The chital (''Axis axis''; ), also known as spotted deer, chital deer, and axis deer, is a deer
Deer or true deer are ed s forming the Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the , including the , the (wapiti), the , and the ; and t ...

,
hog deer
''Hyelaphus'' (golden deer or hog deer) is a genus of relatively small deer found in South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. South is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to the east and west.
Etymology
The word ...

,
barasingha
The barasingha (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), also called swamp deer, is a deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family (biology), family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the ...

, Indian
sambar, and
Indian muntjac
The Indian muntjac (''Muntiacus muntjak''), also called the southern red muntjac and barking deer, is a deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutr ...
. Grazing species such as the endangered barasingha and very common chital are gregarious and live in large herds. Indian sambar can be gregarious but are usually solitary or live in smaller herds. Hog deer are solitary and have lower densities than Indian muntjac. Deer can be seen in several national parks in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka of which
Kanha National Park
Kanha Tiger Reserve, also known as Kanha–Kisli National Park, is one of the tiger reserves of India
There are 51 Bengal tiger, tiger reserves in India which are governed by Project Tiger which is administrated by the National Tiger Conservati ...

,
Dudhwa National Park
The Dudhwa National Park is a national park
A national park is a park in use for Conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land tha ...

, and
Chitwan National Park
Chitwan District (, , ) is one of 77 districts of Nepal, and takes up the southwestern corner of Bagmati Province. Bharatpur, largest city of Nepal after Kathmandu, is its administrative centre. It covers , and in 2011 had a population of 579 ...
are most famous. Sri Lanka's
Wilpattu National Park
Wilpattu National Park (Willu-pattu; Land of Lakes) is a park located on the island of Sri Lanka. The unique feature of this park is the existence of "Willus" (natural lakes) - natural, sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill with rainwa ...

and
Yala National Park
Yala (යාල) National Park is the most visited and second largest national park
A national park is a park in use for Conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natur ...

have large herds of Indian sambar and chital. The Indian sambar are more gregarious in Sri Lanka than other parts of their range and tend to form larger herds than elsewhere.
The Chao Praya River Valley of Thailand was once primarily tropical seasonal moist deciduous forest and wet savanna that hosted populations of hog deer, the now-extinct
Schomburgk's deer,
Eld's deer
Eld's deer (''Rucervus eldii''),Pitraa, Fickela, Meijaard, Groves (2004). ''Evolution and phylogeny of old world deer.'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33: 880–895. also known as the thamin or brow-antlered deer, is an endangered
An ...
, Indian sambar, and Indian muntjac. Both the hog deer and Eld's deer are rare, whereas Indian sambar and Indian muntjac thrive in protected national parks, such as
. Many of these South Asian and Southeast Asian deer species also share their habitat with other
herbivores
A herbivore is an animal
Animals (also called Metazoa) are multicellular
A multicellular organism is an organism
In biology, an organism () is any organic, life, living system that functions as an individual entity. All ...
, such as
s, the various Asian rhinoceros species, various antelope species (such as
nilgai
The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asia
Asia () is 's largest and most populous , located primarily in the and . It shares the continental of with the continent of and the cont ...

,
four-horned antelope
The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), or ''chousingha'', is a small antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able ...
,
blackbuck
The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant
Ruminants (suborder
In biological classification, the order ( la, wikt:or ...

, and
in India), and wild oxen (such as
wild Asian water buffalo
Wild, wild or wild may refer to:
Common meanings
* Wildlife, Wild animal
* Wilderness, a wild natural environment
* Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed
Art, media and entertainment Video games
*Wild (video game), ''Wild'' video game, ...
,
gaur
The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. South is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to the east and west.
Etymology
The word ...

,
banteng
The banteng (''Bos javanicus''; ), also known as tembadau, is a species of Bos, cattle found in Southeast Asia. The head-and-body length is between . Wild banteng are typically larger and heavier than their domesticated counterparts, but are o ...

, and
kouprey
The kouprey (''Bos sauveli'', km, គោព្រៃ, , "forest ox"; also known as ''kouproh'', "grey ox") is a little-known, forest-dwelling, wild bovine
The biological subfamily
In biological classification
In biology, taxonomy () ...

). One way that different herbivores can survive together in a given area is for each species to have different food preferences, although there may be some overlap.
Australia has six
introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of biological classification, ...
of deer that have established sustainable wild populations from
acclimatisation societyAcclimatisation societies were voluntary association
A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as ...
releases in the 19th century. These are the fallow deer, red deer, sambar, hog deer,
rusa, and chital. Red deer introduced into New Zealand in 1851 from English and Scottish stock were domesticated in
deer farms by the late 1960s and are common farm animals there now. Seven other species of deer were introduced into New Zealand but none are as widespread as red deer.
Description

Deer constitute the second most diverse family of artiodactyla after bovids.
[ Though of a similar build, deer are strongly distinguished from ]antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant
Ruminants (suborder
In biological classification, the order ( la, wikt:ordo#Latin, ordo) is
# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized by ...

s by their antler
Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the deer
Deer or true deer are ed s forming the Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the , including the , the (wapiti), the , and the ; and the , including the ( ...

s, which are temporary and regularly regrown unlike the permanent horn
Horn usually refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various anima ...
s of bovids. Characteristics typical of deer include long, powerful legs, a diminutive tail and long ears. Deer exhibit a broad variation in physical proportions. The largest extant deer is the moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the Capreolinae, New World deer subfamily and is the Largest cervids, largest and heaviest extant taxon, extant species in the Cervidae, deer family. Most adult ...

, which is nearly tall and weighs up to . The elk stands at the shoulder and weighs . The northern pudu is the smallest deer in the world; it reaches merely at the shoulder and weighs . The southern pudu is only slightly taller and heavier.[ ]Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sex
Sex is either of two divisions, typically male
Male (♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete known as sperm. A male gamete can fuse with a larger female gamete, or ovum, in ...
is quite pronounced – in most species males tend to be larger than females, and, except for the reindeer, only males possess antlers.
Coat colour generally varies between red and brown, though it can be as dark as chocolate brown in the tufted deer or have a grayish tinge as in elk.[ Different species of brocket deer vary from gray to reddish brown in coat colour. Several species such as the chital,] the fallow deer and the sika deer feature white spots on a brown coat. Coat of reindeer shows notable geographical variation. Deer undergo two moult
In biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes, Molecular biology, molecular interactions, Physiology, physiological mechanism ...
s in a year;[ for instance, in red deer the red, thin-haired summer coat is gradually replaced by the dense, greyish brown winter coat in autumn, which in turn gives way to the summer coat in the following spring. Moulting is affected by the ]photoperiodPhotoperiodism is the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of night or a dark period. It occurs in plants and animals. Photoperiodism can also be defined as the developmental responses of plants to the relative lengths of light and dark ...
.
Deer are also excellent jumpers and swimmers. Deer are ruminant
Ruminants ( Ruminantia) are large herbivorous grazing or browsing s that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by it in a specialized prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. The process, which takes place in th ...
s, or cud-chewers, and have a four-chambered stomach. Some deer, such as those on the island of Rùm
Rùm (), a Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig or Scots Gaelic, sometimes referred to simply as Gaelic) is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic languages, Celtic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language famil ...
, do consume meat when it is available.
Nearly all deer have a facial gland in front of each eye. The gland contains a strongly scented pheromone
A pheromone (from Ancient Greek ' "to bear" and hormone) is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the s ...

, used to mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark
The Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark (Bosnian
Bosnian may refer to:
*Anything related to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina or its inhabitants
*Anything related to Bo ...
its home range. Bucks of a wide range of species open these glands wide when angry or excited. All deer have a liver
The liver is an organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (anatomy)
An organ is a group of Tissue (biology), tissues with similar functions. Plant life and animal life rely on many organs that co-exist in organ systems.
A given organ's t ...

without a gallbladder
In vertebrate
Vertebrates () comprise all species of animal
Animals (also called Metazoa) are multicellular eukaryotic organisms that form the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotro ...

. Deer also have a tapetum lucidum
The ''tapetum lucidum'' (; from Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken in the area around Rome, known as Latium. Through the ...
, which gives them sufficiently good night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision
Scotopic vision is the vision of the eye under low-light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation within the portion of the elec ...

.
Antlers
All male deer possess antler
Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the deer
Deer or true deer are ed s forming the Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the , including the , the (wapiti), the , and the ; and the , including the ( ...

s, with the exception of the water deer
The water deer (''Hydropotes inermis'') is a small deer superficially more similar to a musk deer
Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family
In human society, ...
, in which males have long tusk-like canines that reach below the lower jaw. Females generally lack antlers, though female reindeer bear antlers smaller and less branched than those of the males. Occasionally females in other species may develop antlers, especially in telemetacarpal deer such as European roe deer, red deer, white-tailed deer and mule deer and less often in plesiometacarpal deer. A study of antlered female white-tailed deer noted that antlers tend to be small and malformed, and are shed frequently around the time of parturition.
The fallow deer and the various subspecies of the reindeer have the largest as well as the heaviest antlers, both in absolute terms as well as in proportion to body mass (an average of eight grams per kilogram of body mass);[ the tufted deer, on the other hand, has the smallest antlers of all deer, while the pudú has the lightest antlers with respect to body mass (0.6 g per kilogram of body mass).][ The structure of antlers show considerable variation; while fallow deer and elk antlers are palmate (with a broad central portion), white-tailed deer antlers include a series of tines sprouting upward from a forward-curving main beam, and those of the pudú are mere spikes.][ Antler development begins from the pedicel, a bony structure that appears on the top of the skull by the time the animal is a year old. The pedicel gives rise to a spiky antler the following year, that is replaced by a branched antler in the third year. This process of losing a set of antlers to develop a larger and more branched set continues for the rest of the life.][ The antlers emerge as soft tissues (known as ]velvet antler
Velvet antler is the whole cartilaginous antler in a precalcified growth stage of the Deer, Cervidae family including the species of deer such as elk, moose, and caribou. Velvet antler is covered in a hairy, velvet-like "skin" known as velvet and i ...
s) and progressively harden into bony structures (known as hard antlers), following mineralisation and blockage of blood vessel
The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system
The circulatory system, also called the cardiovascular system or the vascular system, is an organ system
An organ system is a biological system
A biological system is a comp ...
s in the tissue, from the tip to the base.
Antlers might be one of the most exaggerated male secondary sexual characteristic
Secondary sex characteristics are features that appear during puberty in human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedality, bipedalism and large, complex brains. This has ena ...
s, and are intended primarily for reproductive success through sexual selection
Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype
right , Here the relation between genotype and phenotype is illustrat ...
and for combat. The tines (forks) on the antlers create grooves that allow another male's antlers to lock into place. This allows the males to wrestle without risking injury to the face. Antlers are correlated to an individual's position in the social hierarchy and its behaviour. For instance, the heavier the antlers, the higher the individual's status in the social hierarchy, and the greater the delay in shedding the antlers;[ males with larger antlers tend to be more aggressive and dominant over others. Antlers can be an ]honest signal
Within evolutionary biology
Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolution, evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the Biodiversity, diversity of life on Earth. In th ...
of genetic quality; males with larger antlers relative to body size tend to have increased resistance to pathogen
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory ...
s and higher reproductive capacity.
In elk in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by ...

, antlers also provide protection against predation by wolves
The wolf (''Canis lupus''), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia
Eurasia () is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, N ...

.
Homology of tines, that is, the branching structure of antlers among species, have been discussed before the 1900s. Recently, a new method to describe the branching structure of antlers and determining homology of tines was developed.
Teeth
Most deer bear 32 teeth; the corresponding dental formula
Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth
In animal anatomy
Anatomy (Greek ''anatomē'', 'dissection') is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organism
In biolo ...
is: . The elk and the reindeer may be exceptions, as they may retain their upper canines and thus have 34 teeth (dental formula: ). The Chinese water deer, tufted deer, and muntjac
Muntjacs ( ), also known as barking deer or rib-faced deer are small deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Ente ...

have enlarged upper canine teeth
In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dog teeth, or (in the context of the upper jaw) fangs, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or vampire fangs, are the relatively long, pointed tooth, teeth. They can appear more flattened how ...
forming sharp tusks, while other species often lack upper canines altogether. The cheek teeth of deer have crescent ridges of enamel, which enable them to grind a wide variety of vegetation. The teeth of deer are adapted to feeding on vegetation, and like other ruminants, they lack upper incisor
Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wherea ...
s, instead having a tough pad at the front of their upper jaw.
Biology
Diet
Deer are browsers
Browse, browser or browsing may refer to:
Programs
*Web browser, a program used to access the World Wide Web
*Code browser, a program for navigating source code
*File browser or file manager, a program used to manage files and related objects
*Har ...
, and feed primarily on foliage of grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family
In , family (from la, familia) is a of people related either by (by recognized birth) or (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of families is to maintain ...

es, sedges
The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid
In botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in t ...
, forbs
A forb or phorb is a herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (Poaceae, grass, Cyperaceae, sedge, or Juncaceae, rush). The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory.
Etymology ...
, shrubs
A shrub (often called a bush) is a small- to medium-sized perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the p ...

and trees
In botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science
Science (from the Latin word ''scientia'', meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that Scientific method, builds and Taxonomy (general), organiz ...

, secondarily on lichens
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among Hypha, filaments of multiple Fungus, fungi species in a mutualism (biology), mutualistic relationship. in northern latitudes during winter. They have small, unspecialized stomachs by ruminant
Ruminants ( Ruminantia) are large herbivorous grazing or browsing s that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by it in a specialized prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. The process, which takes place in th ...
standards, and high nutrition requirements. Rather than eating and digesting vast quantities of low-grade fibrous food as, for example, sheep
Sheep (''Ovis aries'') are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order (biology), order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name ''sheep'' applies to many species ...
and cattle
Cattle, taurine cattle, Eurasian cattle, or European cattle (''Bos taurus'' or ''Bos primigenius taurus'') are large domestication, domesticated Cloven hoof, cloven-hooved herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae ...

do, deer select easily digestible shoots, young leaves, fresh grasses, soft twigs, fruit, fungi
A fungus (plural
The plural (sometimes abbreviated
An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters, or words taken from the full ...

, and lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism
In biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes, Molecular biology, molecu ...

s. The low-fibered food, after minimal fermentation and shredding, passes rapidly through the alimentary canal. The deer require a large amount of minerals such as calcium
Calcium is a chemical element
In chemistry, an element is a pure Chemical substance, substance consisting only of atoms that all have the same numbers of protons in their atomic nucleus, nuclei. Unlike chemical compounds, chemical elem ...

and phosphate in order to support antler growth, and this further necessitates a nutrient-rich diet. There are some reports of deer engaging in carnivorous activity, such as eating dead alewives along lakeshores or depredating the nests of northern bobwhite
The northern bobwhite (''Colinus virginianus''), also known as the Virginia quail or (in its home range) bobwhite quail, is a ground-dwelling bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves ...
s.
Reproduction
Nearly all cervids are so-called wikt:uniparental, uniparental species: the fawns are only cared for by the mother, known as a doe. A doe generally has one or two fawns at a time (triplets, while not unknown, are uncommon). Mating season typically begins in later August and lasts until December. Some species mate until early March. The gestation period is anywhere up to ten months for the European roe deer. Most fawns are born with their fur covered with white spots, though in many species they lose these spots by the end of their first winter. In the first twenty minutes of a fawn's life, the fawn begins to take its first steps. Its mother licks it clean until it is almost free of scent, so predators will not find it. Its mother leaves often to graze, and the fawn does not like to be left behind. Sometimes its mother must gently push it down with her foot.[Deer – info and games](_blank)
Sheppard Software. The fawn stays hidden in the grass for one week until it is strong enough to walk with its mother. The fawn and its mother stay together for about one year. A male usually leaves and never sees his mother again, but females sometimes come back with their own fawns and form small herds.
Disease
In some areas of the UK, deer (especially fallow deer
''Dama'' is a genus
Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank
In biological classification
In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscrib ...

due to their gregarious behaviour) have been implicated as a possible reservoir for transmission of bovine tuberculosis, a disease which in the UK in 2005 cost £90 million in attempts to eradicate. In New Zealand, deer are thought to be important as vectors picking up ''M. bovis'' in areas where brushtail possums ''Trichosurus vulpecula'' are infected, and transferring it to previously uninfected possums when their carcasses are scavenged elsewhere. The white-tailed deer ''Odocoileus virginianus'' has been confirmed as the sole maintenance host in the Michigan outbreak of bovine tuberculosis which remains a significant barrier to the US nationwide eradication of the disease in livestock.
Moose and deer can carry rabies.
Docile moose may suffer from brain worm, a parasitic worm, helminth which drills holes through the brain in its search for a suitable place to lay its eggs. A government biologist states that "They move around looking for the right spot and never really find it." Deer appear to be immune to this parasite; it passes through the digestive system and is excreted in the feces. The parasite is not screened by the moose intestine, and passes into the brain where damage is done that is externally apparent, both in behaviour and in gait.[
Deer, elk and moose in North America may suffer from chronic wasting disease, which was identified at a Colorado laboratory in the 1960s and is believed to be a prion disease. Out of an abundance of caution hunters are advised to avoid contact with specified risk material (SRM) such as the brain, spinal column or lymph nodes. Deboning the meat when butchering and sanitizing the knives and other tools used to butcher are amongst other government recommendations.
]
Evolution
Deer are believed to have evolved from antlerless, tusked ancestors that resembled modern duikers and diminutive deer in the early Eocene, and gradually developed into the first antlered cervoids (the Superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily of cervids and related extinct families) in the Miocene. Eventually, with the development of antlers, the tusks as well as the upper incisor
Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wherea ...
s disappeared. Thus, evolution of deer took nearly 30 million years. Biologist Valerius Geist suggests evolution to have occurred in stages. There are not many prominent fossils to trace this evolution, but only fragments of skeletons and antlers that might be easily confused with false antlers of non-cervid species.[
]
Eocene
The ruminant
Ruminants ( Ruminantia) are large herbivorous grazing or browsing s that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by it in a specialized prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. The process, which takes place in th ...
s, ancestors of the Cervidae, are believed to have evolved from ''Diacodexis'', the earliest known artiodactyl (even-toed ungulate), 50–55 Mya in the Eocene.[ ''Diacodexis'', nearly the size of a rabbit, featured the talus bone characteristic of all modern even-toed ungulates. This ancestor and its relatives occurred throughout North America and Eurasia, but were on the decline by at least 46 Mya.] Analysis of a nearly complete skeleton of ''Diacodexis'' discovered in 1982 gave rise to speculation that this ancestor could be closer to the non-ruminants than the ruminants. ''Andromeryx'' is another prominent prehistoric ruminant, but appears to be closer to the Chevrotain, tragulids.
Oligocene
The formation of the Himalayas and the Alps
The Alps ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps; sl, Alpe ) are the highest and most extensive mountain range
A mountain range is a series of mountains
ranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt ...

brought about significant geographic changes. This was the chief reason behind the extensive diversification of deer-like forms and the emergence of cervids from the Oligocene to the early Pliocene. The latter half of the Oligocene (28–34 Mya) saw the appearance of the European ''Eumeryx'' and the North American ''Leptomeryx''. The latter resembled modern-day bovids and cervids in dental morphology (for instance, it had brachyodont molars), while the former was more Primitive (phylogenetics), advanced. Other deer-like forms included the North American ''Blastomeryx'' and the European ''Dremotherium''; these sabre-toothed animals are believed to have been the direct ancestors of all modern antlered deer, though they themselves lacked antlers. Another contemporaneous form was the four-horned Protoceratidae, protoceratid ''Protoceras'', that was replaced by ''Syndyoceras'' in the Miocene; these animals were unique in having a horn on the nose.[ Late Eocene fossils dated approximately 35 million years ago, which were found in North America, show that ''Syndyoceras'' had bony skull outgrowths that resembled non-deciduous antlers.]
Miocene
Fossil evidence suggests that the earliest members of the superfamily Cervoidea appeared in Eurasia in the Miocene. ''Dicrocerus'', ''Euprox'' and ''Heteroprox'' were probably the first antlered cervids. ''Dicrocerus'' featured single-forked antlers that were shed regularly. ''Stephanocemas'' had more developed and diffuse ("crowned") antlers. ''Procervulus'' (Palaeomerycidae) also possessed antlers that were not shed. Contemporary forms such as the Merycodontinae, merycodontines eventually gave rise to the modern pronghorn.
The Cervinae emerged as the first group of extant cervids around 7–9 Mya, during the late Miocene in central Asia. The tribe Muntiacini made its appearance as extinction, † ''Muntiacus leilaoensis'' around 7–8 Mya; The early muntjacs varied in size–as small as hares or as large as fallow deer. They had tusks for fighting and antlers for defence.[ Capreolinae followed soon after; Alceini appeared 6.4–8.4 Mya.][ Around this period, the Tethys Ocean disappeared to give way to vast stretches of grassland; these provided the deer with abundant protein-rich vegetation that led to the development of ornamental antlers and allowed populations to flourish and colonise areas.][ As antlers had become pronounced, the canines were either lost or became poorly represented (as in elk), probably because diet was no longer Browsing (herbivory), browse-dominated and antlers were better display organs. In muntjac and tufted deer, the antlers as well as the canines are small. The tragulids possess long canines to this day.][
]
Pliocene
With the onset of the Pliocene, the global climate became cooler. A fall in the sea-level led to massive glaciation; consequently, grasslands abounded in nutritious forage. Thus a new spurt in deer populations ensued.[ The oldest member of Cervini, extinction, † ''Cervocerus novorossiae'', appeared around the transition from Miocene to Pliocene (4.2–6 Mya) in Eurasia; cervine fossils from early Pliocene to as late as the Pleistocene have been excavated in China and the Himalayas. While ''Cervus'' and ''Dama'' appeared nearly 3 Mya, ''Axis'' emerged during the late Pliocene–Pleistocene. The tribes Capreolini and Rangiferini appeared around 4–7 Mya.][
Around 5 Mya, the rangiferina extinction, † ''Bretzia'' and extinction, † ''Eocoileus'' were the first cervids to reach North America.][ This implies the Bering Strait could be crossed during the late Miocene–Pliocene; this appears highly probable as the camelids migrated into Asia from North America around the same time. Deer invaded South America in the late Pliocene (2.5–3 Mya) as part of the Great American Interchange, thanks to the recently formed Isthmus of Panama, and emerged successful due to the small number of competing ruminants in the continent.
]
Pleistocene
Large deer with impressive antlers evolved during the early Pleistocene, probably as a result of abundant resources to drive evolution.[ The early Pleistocene cervid extinction, † ''Eucladoceros'' was comparable in size to the modern elk. extinction, † ''Megaloceros'' (Pliocene–Pleistocene) featured the Irish elk (''M. giganteus''), one of the Largest cervids, largest known cervids. The Irish elk reached at the shoulder and had heavy antlers that spanned from tip to tip. These large animals are thought to have faced extinction due to conflict between ]sexual selection
Sexual selection is a mode of natural selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype
right , Here the relation between genotype and phenotype is illustrat ...
for large antlers and body and natural selection for a smaller form. Meanwhile, the moose and reindeer radiated into North America from Siberia.
Taxonomy and classification
Deer constitute the artiodactyl family
In human society
A society is a Social group, group of individuals involved in persistent Social relation, social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same Politic ...
Cervidae. This family was first scientific description, described by German zoologist Georg August Goldfuss in ''Handbuch der Zoologie'' (1820). Three subfamily, subfamilies are recognised: Capreolinae (first described by the English zoologist Joshua Brookes in 1828), Cervinae (described by Goldfuss) and Hydropotinae (first described by French zoologist Édouard Louis Trouessart in 1898).
Other attempts at the classification of deer have been based on morphological and Genetics, genetic differences. The Anglo-Irish naturalist Victor Brooke suggested in 1878 that deer could be bifurcated into two classes on the according to the features of the second and fifth metacarpal bones of their forelimbs: Plesiometacarpalia (most Old World deer) and Telemetacarpalia (most New World deer). He treated the musk deer
Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family
In , family (from la, familia) is a of people related either by (by recognized birth) or (by marriage or other r ...
as a cervid, placing it under Telemetacarpalia. While the telemetacarpal deer showed only those elements located far from the joint, the plesiometacarpal deer retained the elements closer to the joint as well. Differentiation on the basis of diploidy, diploid number of chromosomes in the late 20th century has been flawed by several inconsistencies.[
In 1987, the zoologists Colin Groves and Peter Grubb (zoologist), Peter Grubb identified three subfamilies: Cervinae, Hydropotinae and Odocoileinae; they noted that the hydropotines lack antlers, and the other two subfamilies differ in their skeletal morphology.] They reverted from this classification in 2000.
External relationships
Until 2003, it was understood that the family Moschidae
Moschidae is a family
In human society, family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of families is to maintain the well ...
(musk deer) was sister taxon, sister to Cervidae. Then a phylogenetic study by Alexandre Hassanin (of National Museum of Natural History (France), National Museum of Natural History, France) and colleagues, based on mitochondrial and nucleus (biology), nuclear analyses, revealed that Moschidae and Bovidae
The Bovidae comprise the biological family
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy; it is classified between order (biology), order and genus. A family may be divided into su ...
form a clade sister to Cervidae. According to the study, Cervidae genetic divergence, diverged from the Bovidae-Moschidae clade 27 to 28 million years ago. The following cladogram is based on the 2003 study.
Internal relationships
A 2006 phylogenetic study of the internal relationships in Cervidae by Clément Gilbert and colleagues divided the family into two major clades: Capreolinae (telemetacarpal or New World deer) and Cervinae (plesiometacarpal or Old World deer). Studies in the late 20th century suggested a similar bifurcation in the family. This as well as previous studies support monophyly in Cervinae, while Capreolinae appears paraphyletic. The 2006 study identified two lineages in Cervinae, Cervini (comprising the genera ''Axis (genus), Axis'', ''Cervus'', ''Dama (deer), Dama'' and ''Rucervus'') and Muntiacini (''Muntiacus'' and ''Elaphodus''). Capreolinae featured three lineages, Alceini (''Alces'' species), Capreolini (''Capreolus'' and the subfamily Hydropotinae) and Rangiferini (''Blastocerus'', ''Hippocamelus'', ''Mazama (genus), Mazama'', ''Odocoileus'', ''Pudu'' and ''Reindeer, Rangifer'' species). The following cladogram is based on the 2006 study.
Human interaction
Prehistoric
Deer were an important source of food for early hominids. In China, ''Homo erectus'' fed upon the sika deer
The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to the Russ ...
, while the red deer was hunted in Germany. In the Upper Palaeolithic, the reindeer was the staple food for Cro-Magnon people,[ while the cave paintings at Lascaux in southwestern France include some 90 images of stags.] In China, deer continued to be a main source of food for millennia even after people began farming, and it is possible that sika and other deer benefited from the frequently abandoned field sites.
Historic
Deer had a central role in the ancient art, culture and mythology of the Hittites, the ancient Egyptians, the Celtic people, Celts, the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, the Asians and several others. For instance, the Stag Hunt Mosaic of ancient Pella, under the Kingdom of Macedonia (4th century BC), possibly depicts Alexander the Great hunting a deer with Hephaestion. In Japanese Shintoism, the sika deer is believed to be a messenger to the gods. History of China, In China, deer are associated with great medicinal significance; deer penis is thought by some in China to have aphrodisiac properties. Spotted deer are believed in China to accompany the god of longevity. Deer was the principal sacrificial animal for the Huichal Indians of Mexico. In medieval Europe, deer appeared in hunting scenes and coats-of-arms. Deer are depicted in many materials by various pre-Hispanic civilizations in the Andes.[Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum (1997) ''The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Larco Museum, Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera.'' New York: Thames and Hudson, .]
The common male first name ''Oscar (given name), Oscar'' is taken from the Irish Language, where it is derived from two elements: the first, ''os'', means "deer"; the second element, ''cara'', means "friend". The name is borne by a famous hero of Irish mythology—Oscar (Irish mythology), Oscar, grandson of Fionn Mac Cumhail. The name was popularised in the 18th century by James Macpherson, creator of 'Ossianic poetry'.
Literary
Deer have been an integral part of fables and other literary works since the inception of writing. Stags were used as symbols in the latter Sumerian writings. For instance, the boat of Sumerian god Enki is named the ''Stag of Azbu''. There are several mentions of the animal in the Rigveda as well as the Bible. In the Indian epic Ramayana, Sita is lured by a golden deer which Rama tries to catch. In the absence of both Rama and Lakshman, Ravana kidnaps Sita. Many of the allegorical Aesop's fables, such as "The Stag at the Pool", "The One-Eyed Doe" and "The Stag and a Lion", personify deer to give moral lessons. For instance, "The Sick Stag" gives the message that uncaring friends can do more harm than good.[ The Yaqui people, Yaqui deer song accompanies the deer dance which is performed by a pascola [from the Spanish 'pascua', Easter] dancer (also known as a deer dancer). Pascolas would perform at religious and social functions many times of the year, especially during Lent and Easter.]
In one of Rudolf Erich Raspe's 1785 stories of ''Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia'', the baron encounters a stag while eating cherries and, without ammunition, fires the cherry-pits at the stag with his musket, but it escapes. The next year, the baron encounters a stag with a cherry tree growing from its head; presumably this is the animal he had shot at the previous year. In Christmas lore (such as in the narrative poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas"), reindeer
The reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus''), also known as the caribou in North America, is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North ...

are often depicted pulling the sleigh of Santa Claus. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1938 novel ''The Yearling'' was about a boy's relationship with a baby deer. The fiction book ''Fire Bringer'' is about a young fawn who goes on a quest to save the Herla, the deer kind. In the 1942 Walt Disney Pictures film, ''Bambi'' is a white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, Ecuador, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been int ...

, while in Felix Salten's original 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'', he is a roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acq ...

. In C. S. Lewis's 1950 fantasy novel ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' the adult Pevensies, now kings and queens of Narnia, chase the White Stag on a hunt, as the Stag is said to grant its captor a wish. The hunt is key in returning the Pevensies to their home in England. In the 1979 book ''The Animals of Farthing Wood (book), The Animals of Farthing Wood'', The Great White Stag is the leader of all the animals.
Heraldic
Deer of various types appear frequently in European heraldry
Heraldry () is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology
Vexillology () is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flag
A fla ...
. In the British armory, the term "stag" is typically used to refer to antlered male red deer, while "buck" indicates an antlered male fallow deer. Stags and bucks appear in a number of Attitude (heraldry), attitudes, referred to as "lodged" when the deer is lying down, "trippant" when it has one leg raised, "courant" when it is running, "springing" when in the act of leaping, "statant" when it is standing with all hooves on the ground and looking ahead, and "at gaze" when otherwise statant but looking at the viewer. Stags' heads are also frequently used; these are typically portrayed without an attached neck and as facing the viewer, in which case they are termed "caboshed".[Arthur Fox-Davies]
''A Complete Guide to Heraldry''
T.C. and E.C. Jack, London, 1909, 208–210,
Examples of deer in coats of arms can be found in the arms of Hertfordshire, England, and its county town of Hertford; both are examples of canting arms. A deer appears on the arms of the Israel Postal Company, Israeli Postal Authority. Coats of arms featuring deer include those of Dotternhausen, Thierachern, Friolzheim, Bauen, Albstadt, and Dassel in Germany; of the Earls Bathurst in England; of Balakhna, Russia; of Åland, Finland; of Gjemnes, Hitra, Hjartdal, Rendalen and Voss in Norway; of Jelenia Góra, Poland; of Umeå, Sweden; of Queensland, Australia; of Cervera, Catalonia; of Northern Ireland; and of Chile.
Other types of deer used in heraldry include the hind, portrayed much like the stag or buck but without antlers, as well as the reindeer and winged stags. Winged stags are used as supporters in the arms of the de Carteret family. The sea-stag, possessing the antlers, head, forelegs and upper body of a stag and the tail of a mermaid, is often found in German heraldry.
Economic
Deer have long had economic significance to humans. Deer meat, known as venison
Venison originally meant the meat
Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and killed animals for meat since prehistoric times. The advent of civilization allowed the domestication of animals such as chickens, sheep, ...

, is highly nutritious. Due to the inherently wild nature and diet of deer, venison is most often obtained through deer hunting. In the United States, it is produced in small amounts compared to beef, but still represents a significant trade. Deer hunting is a popular activity in the U.S. that provides the hunter's family with high quality meat and generates revenue for states and the federal government from the sales of licenses, permits and tags. The 2006 survey by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that license sales generate approximately $700 million annually. This revenue generally goes to support conservation efforts in the states where the licenses are purchased. Overall, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that big game hunting for deer and elk generates approximately $11.8 billion annually in hunting-related travel, equipment and related expenditures. Conservation laws prevent the sale of unlicensed wild game meat, although it may be donated.
Deer have often been bred in captivity as ornaments for parks, but only in the case of reindeer has thorough domestication succeeded.[ By 2012, some 25,000 tons of red deer were raised on farms in North America. The Sami people, Sami of Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula of Russia and other nomadic peoples of northern Asia use reindeer for food, clothing, and transport. Others are bred for hunting are selected based on the size of the antlers. The major deer-producing countries are New Zealand, the market leader, with Ireland, Great Britain and Germany. The trade earns over $100 million annually for these countries.
Automobile collisions with deer can impose a significant cost on the economy. In the U.S., about 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions occur each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Those accidents cause about 150 human deaths and $1.1 billion in property damage annually.] In Scotland, several roads including the A82 road, A82, the A87 road, A87 and the A835 road, A835 have had significant enough problems with ''deer vehicle collisions'' (DVCs) that sets of vehicle activated automatic warning signs have been installed along these roads.
The skins make a peculiarly strong, soft leather, known as Buckskin (leather), buckskin. There is nothing special about skins with the fur still on since the hair is brittle and soon falls off. The hoofs and horns are used for ornamental purposes, especially the antlers of the roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acq ...

, which are utilized for making umbrella handles, and for similar purposes; elk horn is often employed in making knife handles. Among the Inuit, the traditional ''ulu'' women's knife was made with an antler, horn, or ivory handle. In China, a medicine is made from stag horn, and the antlers of certain species are eaten when "in the velvet". Velvet antlers in medicine have been shown to have health benefits including an enhanced immune system and athletic performance, as well as being effective treatment for arthritis. Antlers can also be boiled down to release the protein gelatin, which is used as a topical treatment for skin irritation and is also used in cooking.
Since the early 20th century, deer have become commonly thought of as pests in New Zealand due to a lack of predators on the island causing population numbers to increase and begin encroaching on more populated areas. They compete with livestock for resources, as well as cause excess erosion and wreak havoc on wild plant species and agriculture alike. They can also have an effect on the conservation efforts of other plant and animal species, as they can critically offset the balance within an environment by drastically depleting diversity within forests.
See also
* Deer management
* Australian Deer Association
* Deer forest
* Reindeer hunting in Greenland
* Largest cervids
References
Further reading
* ''Deerland: America's Hunt for Ecological Balance and the Essence of Wildness'' by Al Cambronne, Lyons Press (2013),
External links
Family Cervidae
at the Animal Diversity Web
Chronic Wasting Disease Information
World of Deer Museum
*
{{Authority control
Deer,
Livestock
Articles containing video clips
Extant Rupelian first appearances
Taxa named by Georg August Goldfuss
Mammal common names