European Fallow Deer
General Characteristics
The Fallow Deer is a slender medium sized deer. The legs are long and slender. The head is thin and narrow, and carried by a long neck. Most animals summer coats have flanks that are a pale chestnut brown color, and are dappled with creamy colored spots. The belly and lower parts of the neck are white. During the winter months the coat is much darker in color and the flank spots disappear. Males are larger and heavier in size than the females. Bucks also carry antlers, which the does do not. The antlers are cast in March or April, and a new set begins to grow straight away. The antlers in the Fallow Deer unlike most other deer, the are broad and flattened, being rather palmate in shape.
Conservation Status
The most widespread exotic deer. Only the Persian fallow is considered endangered.
Distribution
Before the last Ice Age, Fallow deer were found throughout the British Isles and Europe. However, as the ice advanced, they became extinct in the regions as they were driven south to the Mediterranean and North Africa. Fallow Deer were reintroduced to northern and western Europe by the Romans, and brought to Britain by the Normans after their invasion in 1169. Today the Fallow Deer is found in many European countries. They have also been introduced outside of Europe, notably into the USA.
Ecology and Behavior
Fallow Deer are gregarious animals, living in small herds. The sexes live separately, with the females and the young living away from the male herds. Older males are typically more solitary. Within the herds there is a strict dominance hierarchy, with certain individuals leading the group to new locations to feed and rest. Feeding mostly takes place at dawn and dusk, with Fallow Deer resting throughout much of the day. The Fallow Deer is not territorial, herds moving freely within large home ranges, which overlap with those of other herds. When kept in parks or enclosures, Fallow Deer can become remarkable tame and undisturbed by the presence of people, however this belies the secretive and timid ways of wild living animals. When alarmed they give out a short barking alarm call
Family Group: Herds of females and their young, bucks are found in smaller bachelor herds or are solitary.
Diet: grasses and a variety of herbaceous plants, trees and shrubs
Main Predators: Wolves, lynx and bears
The Fallow Deer is a slender medium sized deer. The legs are long and slender. The head is thin and narrow, and carried by a long neck. Most animals summer coats have flanks that are a pale chestnut brown color, and are dappled with creamy colored spots. The belly and lower parts of the neck are white. During the winter months the coat is much darker in color and the flank spots disappear. Males are larger and heavier in size than the females. Bucks also carry antlers, which the does do not. The antlers are cast in March or April, and a new set begins to grow straight away. The antlers in the Fallow Deer unlike most other deer, the are broad and flattened, being rather palmate in shape.
Conservation Status
The most widespread exotic deer. Only the Persian fallow is considered endangered.
Distribution
Before the last Ice Age, Fallow deer were found throughout the British Isles and Europe. However, as the ice advanced, they became extinct in the regions as they were driven south to the Mediterranean and North Africa. Fallow Deer were reintroduced to northern and western Europe by the Romans, and brought to Britain by the Normans after their invasion in 1169. Today the Fallow Deer is found in many European countries. They have also been introduced outside of Europe, notably into the USA.
Ecology and Behavior
Fallow Deer are gregarious animals, living in small herds. The sexes live separately, with the females and the young living away from the male herds. Older males are typically more solitary. Within the herds there is a strict dominance hierarchy, with certain individuals leading the group to new locations to feed and rest. Feeding mostly takes place at dawn and dusk, with Fallow Deer resting throughout much of the day. The Fallow Deer is not territorial, herds moving freely within large home ranges, which overlap with those of other herds. When kept in parks or enclosures, Fallow Deer can become remarkable tame and undisturbed by the presence of people, however this belies the secretive and timid ways of wild living animals. When alarmed they give out a short barking alarm call
Family Group: Herds of females and their young, bucks are found in smaller bachelor herds or are solitary.
Diet: grasses and a variety of herbaceous plants, trees and shrubs
Main Predators: Wolves, lynx and bears