Red deer - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Description Toggle Description subsection 1.1 Size 1.2 Neck mane 1.3 Antlers 1.4 Coat 2 Distribution Toggle Distribution subsection 2.1 Europe and North Africa 2.2 West Asia 2.3 New Zealand 2.4 Australia 2.5 Argentina and Chile 2.6 Migration 3 Taxonomy and evolution 4 Behaviour Toggle Behaviour subsection 4.1 Breeding, gestation and lifespan 4.2 Protection from predators 5 Red deer in folklore and art 6 Red deer products 7 Gallery 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Toggle the table of contents Red deer 106 languages Afrikaans Aragonés العربية الدارجة مصرى Asturianu Kotava Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه Башҡортса Basa Bali Žemaitėška Беларуская (тарашкевіца) Беларуская Български བོད་ཡིག Brezhoneg Català Нохчийн Cebuano Čeština Kaszëbsczi Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Esperanto Español Eesti Euskara فارسی Suomi Võro Fɔ̀ngbè Français Frysk Gaeilge Galego Gaelg עברית हिन्दी Hrvatski Magyar Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano 日本語 ქართული Taqbaylit Қазақша 한국어 Kurdî Кыргызча Latina Lëtzebuergesch Lietuvių Latviešu मैथिली Malagasy Олык марий Македонски Bahasa Melayu مازِرونی Napulitano Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Norsk bokmål Diné bizaad Occitan Livvinkarjala Ирон ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Picard Polski پنجابی Português Runa Simi Română Русский Саха тыла Scots Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Anarâškielâ Shqip Српски / srpski Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkmençe Tagalog Türkçe ئۇيغۇرچە / Uyghurche Українська اردو Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Vèneto Tiếng Việt Walon Winaray 吴语 粵語 中文 Edit links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikispecies Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Species of hoofed mammal This article is about the deer species endemic to the Palearctic. For the Canadian city, see Red Deer, Alberta. For other uses, see Red deer (disambiguation). Glen Garry, Highland, [[Scotland]]"},"status":{"wt":"LC"},"status_system":{"wt":"IUCN3.1"},"status_ref":{"wt":"<ref name=\"IUCN\">{{Cite iucn |title=''Cervus elaphus'' |errata=2019 |author=Lovari, S. |author2=Lorenzini, R. |author3=Masseti, M. |author4=Pereladova, O. |author5=Carden, R.F. |author6=Brook, S.M. |author7=Mattioli, S. |name-list-style=amp |article-number= e.T55997072A142404453 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T55997072A142404453.en |year= 2018|access-date= 22 May 2020}}</ref>"},"taxon":{"wt":"Cervus elaphus"},"authority":{"wt":"[[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]"},"subdivision_ranks":{"wt":"Subspecies"},"subdivision":{"wt":"*''[[Norwegian red deer|C. e. atlanticus]]''\n*''[[Barbary stag|C. e. barbarus]]''\n*''C. e. brauneri''\n*''[[Corsican red deer|C. e. corsicanus]]''\n*''C. e. elaphus''\n*''[[Irish red deer|C. e. hibernicus]]''\n*''[[Central European red deer|C. e. hippelaphus]]''\n*''[[Spanish red deer|C. e. hispanicus]]''\n*''C. e. italicus''\n*''[[Caspian red deer|C. e. maral]]''\n*''C. e. pannoniensis''\n*''[[Scottish red deer|C. e. scoticus]]''"},"range_map":{"wt":"Red deer (Cervus elaphus) reconstructed and recent.png"},"range_map_caption":{"wt":"Range of the red deer (''Cervus elaphus''), includes range of [[Central Asian red deer]]:{{leftlegend|#ADFF2F|reconstructed|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#4B6F44|recent|outline=gray}}"}},"i":1}}]}'> Red deer Temporal range: Early Middle Pleistocene to Recent 0.8–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Male (stag) Female (hind) Glen Garry, Highland, Scotland Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Placentalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus: Cervus Species: C. elaphus Binomial name Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies C. e. atlanticus C. e. barbarus C. e. brauneri C. e. corsicanus C. e. elaphus C. e. hibernicus C. e. hippelaphus C. e. hispanicus C. e. italicus C. e. maral C. e. pannoniensis C. e. scoticus Range of the red deer (Cervus elaphus), includes range of Central Asian red deer:  reconstructed   recent The red deer (Cervus elaphus) is a species of deer in the genus Cervus. It 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 Western Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains of Northern Africa, being the only living species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red deer have been introduced to other areas, including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina.[2] In many parts of the world, the meat (venison) from red deer is used as a food source. The red deer is a ruminant, characterized by a four-chambered stomach. Genetic evidence indicates that the red deer, as traditionally defined, is a species group, rather than a single species, though exactly how many species the group includes remains disputed.[3][4] The ancestor of the red deer probably originated in central Asia.[5] Although at one time red deer were rare in parts of Europe, they were never close to extinction. Reintroduction and conservation efforts, such as in the United Kingdom and Portugal,[6] have resulted in an increase of red deer populations, while other areas, such as North Africa, have continued to show a population decline. Description [edit] Skull of a red deer The red deer is the fourth-largest extant deer species, behind the moose, elk, and sambar deer. It is a ruminant, eating its food in two stages and having an even number of toes on each hoof, like camels, goats, and cattle. European red deer have a relatively long tail compared with their Asian and North American relatives. Subtle differences in appearance are noted between the various subspecies of red deer, primarily in size and antlers, with the smallest being the Corsican red deer found on the islands of Corsica and Sardinia and the largest being the Caspian red deer[7] (or maral) of Asia Minor and the Caucasus Region to the west of the Caspian Sea. The deer of central and western Europe vary greatly in size, with some of the largest deer found in the Carpathian Mountains in Central Europe.[5] Western European red deer, historically, grew to large size given ample food supply (including people's crops), and descendants of introduced populations living in New Zealand and Argentina have grown quite large in both body and antler size. Large red deer stags, like the Caspian red deer or those of the Carpathian Mountains, may rival North American elk in size. Female red deer are much smaller than the males. Skeleton of Cervus elaphus displayed at Għar Dalam Size [edit] The male (stag) red deer is typically 175 to 250 cm (69 to 98 in) long from the nose to the base of the tail and typically weighs 160 to 240 kg (350 to 530 lb); the female (hind) is 160 to 210 cm (63 to 83 in) long and often weighs 120 to 170 kg (260 to 370 lb).[8] The tail adds another 12 to 19 cm (4+1⁄2 to 7+1⁄2 in) and shoulder height is about 95 to 130 cm (37 to 51 in).[8] In Scotland, stags average 201 cm (79 in) in head-and-body length and 122 cm (48 in) high at the shoulder and females average 180 cm (71 in) long and 114 cm (45 in) tall.[8] Based on body mass, they are likely the fourth largest extant deer species on average, behind the moose, the elk and the sambar deer.[9] Size varies in different subspecies with the largest, the huge but small-antlered deer of the Carpathian Mountains (C. e. elaphus), weighing up to 500 kg (1,100 lb). At the other end of the scale, the Corsican red deer (C. e. corsicanus) weighs about 80 to 100 kg (180 to 220 lb), although red deer in poor habitats can weigh as little as 53 to 112 kg (120 to 250 lb).[10] Neck mane [edit] The males of many subspecies also grow a short neck mane during the autumn. The male deer of the British Isles and Norway tend to have the thickest and most noticeable manes. Male Caspian red deer (C. e. maral) and Spanish red deer (C. e. hispanicus) do not carry neck manes. Male deer of all subspecies, however, tend to have stronger and thicker neck muscles than female deer, which may give them an appearance of having neck manes. Red deer hinds (females) do not have neck manes. Antlers [edit] Only the stags have antlers, which start growing in the spring and are shed each year, usually at the end of winter. Antlers typically measure 71 cm (28 in) in total length and weigh 1 kg (2.2 lb), although large ones can grow to 115 cm (45 in) and weigh 5 kg (11 lb).[8] Antlers, which are made of bone, can grow at a rate of 2.5 cm (1 in) a day.[11] While an antler is growing, it is covered with highly vascular skin called velvet, which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the growing bone.[12] The antlers are testosterone-driven and as the stag's testosterone levels drop in the autumn, the velvet is shed and the antlers stop growing.[11] With the approach of autumn, the antlers begin to calcify and the stags' testosterone production builds for the approaching rut (mating season). 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. Any tines in excess of the fourth and fifth tines grow radially from the cup, which are generally absent in the antlers of smaller red deer, such as Corsican red deer. Western European red deer antlers feature "bez" (second) tines that are either absent or smaller than the brow tines. However, bez tines occur frequently in Norwegian red deer. Antlers of Caspian red deer carry large bez tines and form less-developed cups than western European red deer, their antlers are thus more like the "throw back" top tines of the North American elk (C. canadensis), known as maraloid characteristics. A stag can (exceptionally) have antlers with no tines, and is then known as a switch. Similarly, a stag that does not grow antlers is a hummel. Coat [edit] European red deer tend to be reddish-brown in their summer coats,[13] and some individuals may have a few spots on the backs of their summer coats.[5] During the autumn, all red deer subspecies grow thicker coats of hair, which helps to insulate them during the winter. Autumn is also when some of the stags grow their neck manes.[5] The autumn/winter coats of most subspecies are most distinct. The Caspian red deer's winter coat is greyer and has a larger and more distinguished light rump-patch (like wapiti and some central Asian red deer) compared with the Western European red deer, which has more of a greyish-brown coat with a darker yellowish rump patch in the winter. By the time summer begins, the heavy winter coat has been shed; the animals are known to rub against trees and other objects to help remove hair from their bodies. 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 …