Mary Allen
With their big antlers, they look really majestic; Therefore, the red deer is often referred to as “kings of the forest”.
Characteristics
What do red deer look like?
Red deer belong to the deer family and are so-called forehead weapon carriers. This dangerous-sounding name refers to the most typical feature of these harmless mammals: the enormous antlers of the males, with which they intimidate their competitors and defend their territory during the mating season.
The antlers can look quite different. In Central European deer, it consists of two rods that grow from the frontal bone and from which usually up to three forward-pointing ends branch off. At the end of the antlers, several side shoots can branch off, creating a crown. The older a deer is, the more its antlers are branched. With their antlers, the deer carry quite a load: it weighs around six kilograms, and in the case of very old deer even up to 15 or 25 kilograms.
The name red deer comes from the fact that the fur of these animals is reddish-brown in summer. In winter, however, they are grey-brown. They have a large white or yellowish spot under the tail on their buttocks, the so-called mirror.
The tail itself is colored dark above and white below. Red deer are our largest mammals: They measure 1.6 to 2.5 meters from head to bottom, have a back height of 1 to 1.5 meters, the small tail is 12 to 15 centimeters long and they weigh between 90 and 350 kilograms. Deer can vary in size depending on sex and habitat: males are much larger than females and sport a long neck mane in the fall and winter.
In addition, the deer in Central and Eastern Europe are much larger than, for example, deer in Northern Europe or on the Italian island of Sardinia.
Where do red deer live?
Red deer are found in Europe, North America, Northwest Africa, and northern Asia. Because they were hunted heavily and their habitat – the large forests – is being destroyed more and more, they no longer live everywhere, but only in a few regions. In some areas, attempts have also been made to reintroduce red deer: for example in Finland, Eastern Europe, and Morocco. They have also been abandoned in other regions where they were not originally native, such as Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina.
Red deer need large, sprawling forests with clearings to thrive. However, they also occur in mountain forests as well as in heath and moor areas. Red deer avoid humans.
What types of red deer are there?
There are around 23 different subspecies of red deer found in different regions around the world. But they all belong to the red deer family. The largest subspecies is the North American elk. Closely related to the red deer is the sika deer from Asia, the white-spotted fallow deer from the Mediterranean and the Near East that were introduced to Europe, and the American white-tailed deer, which was also introduced to some areas of Europe.
How old do red deer get?
Red deer can live up to 20 years.
Behave
How do red deer live?
Deer only become active at dusk in the evening. But it used to be different: the deer were out and about during the day. Because they were heavily hunted by humans, they usually stay hidden during the day. They only come out to eat at dusk. Females and males usually live separately. The females live in herds with the young animals and are led by an old hind. The males either wander through the forests as loners or form small groups.
Anyone who knows where deer live in a wooded area can spot them fairly easily because they keep using the same trails. Such paths are called alternations. Red deer are not only good runners, they are also great at jumping and swimming. They usually spot enemies from afar because they can hear, see and smell well.
Don’t be surprised if you see deer without antlers: firstly, only the male red deer have antlers, and secondly, the males shed their old antlers between February and April. With a lot of luck, you can even find it in the forest. By the end of August, the new antlers will have grown back. It is initially still covered by a skin, the so-called bast, which the deer gradually shed by rubbing the antlers on tree trunks.
Friends and foes of the red deer
Wolves and brown bears can become dangerous to the red deer, young animals can also fall victim to lynx, foxes, or golden eagles. With us, however, deer hardly have any enemies because there are almost no large predators left.
How do red deer reproduce?
Autumn, September, and October are mating or rutting seasons for the deer. Then it gets really loud: The males no longer move around in their groups, but alone and let their loud, roaring calls be heard. With that they want to say to the other deer: “This territory belongs to me!” They also attract the females with their calls.
This time means stress for the deer males: they hardly eat and often there are fights between two males. With antlers pressed against each other, they test who is the stronger. In the end, the winner gathers a whole herd of hinds around him. The weaker deer remain without females.
After a month there is calm again, and almost eight months after mating, the young are born, usually one, very rarely two. Their fur is lightly mottled and they weigh 11 to 14 kilograms. After just a few hours, they can follow their mother on shaky legs. They are suckled for the first few months and usually stay with her until the next calf is born. Only at the age of two or three are deer mature and sexually mature. They are fully grown at the age of four.
The female offspring usually remain in the mother’s pack, the male offspring leave the pack at the age of two and join other male deer.
How do red deer communicate?
When threatened, deer make barking, grunting, or growling noises. During the rutting season, the males let out a loud roar that goes through marrow and bone. The boys can bleat and squeak.