Fallow Deer

(Dama dama)

Live: Southern Europe, Asia and northern Africa

Habitat: River flats, low valley walls. Prefer woodland areas.

Diet: Grasses, herbs, leaves, and some bulbs and field fruits.

Gestation: 8 months

Longevity: 12 years

Status: Least concern

General: This deer species was an important food source for European hunters 10,000 years ago. Spread across Europe by the Romans and into the United Kingdom by the Normans – this has long been a popular game animal. When introduced to countries such as New Zealand, where it has no predators except humans, it can become a pest species – eating native plants and competing with stock.

Colour of adults may vary and will darken over winter, and lose the spotting. Summer coat of adults is chestnut-brown with white spots – typical juvenile colouring of several species. The belly is a lighter cream colour. (Possible to find almost-white and very dark brown forms.) Fawns are lighter in colour.
Antlers: (Buck only) broad, shovel-shaped (palmate) blades - 40cm. Shed and regrown each year in time for the rut. Antlers develop from soft tissue that gradually turns to bone, and are covered by a skin, 'velvet', which is rubbed off to reveal the bone antler. Antlers are to attract does and fight with other bucks.

Buck are territorial during rut, protecting small range and harem, vocalising often.
Ruminants, deer chew the cud.
Smaller same-gender herds are more likely. Mixed, large herds are common depending on time of year.
Display sites are established by males scraping at and urinating on the ground. A 'lek' is a group of displaying males. The rut is the breeding season. Females visit the lek, during the rut, to find a mate.
For the first couple of weeks the fawn 'lies-low' in long grass while the mother goes off to feed.