28 Facts About Red deer

Red deer have been introduced to other areas, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina.

The ancestor of all red deer probably originated in central Asia and resembled sika deer.

Red deer is the fourth-largest extant deer species, behind the moose, elk, and sambar deer.

European red deer have a relatively long tail compared to their Asian and North American relatives.

Deer of central and western Europe vary greatly in size, with some of the largest Red deer found in the Carpathian Mountains in Central Europe.

Related searches

European red deer antlers are distinctive in being rather straight and rugose, with the fourth and fifth tines forming a "crown" or "cup" in larger males.

Red deer have different colouration based on the seasons and types of habitats, with grey or lighter colouration prevalent in the winter and more reddish and darker coat colouration in the summer.

Cervus genus ancestors of red deer first appear in fossil records 12 million years ago during the Miocene in Eurasia.

European red deer is found in southwestern Asia, North Africa, and Europe.

The red deer is the largest nondomesticated land mammal still existing in Ireland.

The Barbary stag is the only member of the deer family represented in Africa, with the population centred in the northwestern region of the continent in the Atlas Mountains.

The Red deer has particularly expanded its footprint into forests at higher altitudes than before.

Several other populations have originated either with "carted" Red deer kept for stag hunts being left out at the end of the hunt, escapes from Red deer farms, or deliberate releases.

Carted deer were kept by stag hunts with no wild red deer in the locality and were normally recaptured after the hunt and used again; although the hunts are called "stag hunts", the Norwich Staghounds only hunted hinds, and in 1950, at least eight hinds were known to be at large near Kimberley and West Harling; they formed the basis of a new population based in Thetford Forest in Norfolk.

In New Zealand, red deer were introduced by acclimatisation societies along with other deer and game species.

The first red deer to reach New Zealand were a pair sent by Lord Petre in 1851 from his herd at Thorndon Park, Essex, to the South Island, but the hind was shot before they had a chance to breed.

The first deer to reach the North Island were a gift to Sir Frederick Weld from Windsor Great Park and were released near Wellington; these were followed by further releases up to 1914.

In 1927, the State Forest Service introduced a bounty for red deer shot on their land, and in 1931, government control operations were commenced.

New Zealand red deer produce very large antlers and are regarded as amongst the best in the world by hunters.

Wild red deer are a feral pest species in Australia, do considerable harm to the natural environment, and are a significant road traffic hazard.

Male European red deer have a distinctive roar during the rut, which is an adaptation to forested environments, in contrast to male American elk stags which "bugle" during the rut in adaptation to open environments.

All red deer calves are born spotted, as is common with many deer species, and lose their spots by the end of summer.

Male red deer retain their antlers for more than half the year, and are less gregarious and less likely to group with other males when they have antlers.

Red deer are often depicted on Pictish stones, from the early medieval period in Scotland, usually as prey animals for human or animal predators.

In medieval hunting, the red deer was the most prestigious quarry, especially the mature stag, which in England was called a hart.

Related searches

The meat of the Red deer, called venison, was until recently restricted in the United Kingdom to those with connections to the aristocratic or poaching communities, and a licence was needed to sell it legally, but it is widely available in supermarkets, especially in the autumn.

Some estates in the Scottish Highlands still sell Red deer-stalking accompanied by a gillie in the traditional way, on unfenced land, while others operate more like farms for venison.

Red deer'storically, related deer species such as Central Asian red deer, wapiti, Thorold's deer, and sika deer have been reared on deer farms in Central and Eastern Asia by Han Chinese, Turkic peoples, Tungusic peoples, Mongolians, and Koreans.