Deer

Capreolinae

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Cervinae

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Hydropotinae

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Muntiacinae

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Defined strictly, a deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. A number of broadly similar animals, from related families within the order Artiodactyla, are often also called deer.

Related Topics:
Ruminant - Mammal - Family - Order - Artiodactyla

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Depending on the species, male deer are called stags, harts, bucks or bulls, and females are called hinds, does or cows. Young deer are called fawns or calves. Hart is an expression for a stag, particularly a Red Deer stag past its fifth year. It is not commonly used, but an example is in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" when Tybalt refers to the brawling Montagues and Capulets as hartless hinds. "The White Hart" and "The Red Hart" are common English pub names.

Related Topics:
Buck - Bull - Hind - Doe - Cow - Calve - Red Deer - Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet - Pub

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Deer are widely distributed, with representatives in all continents except Australia, Antarctica, and Africa. Australia does have six introduced species of deer that have established sustainable wild populations from Acclimatisation Society releases in the 19th Century. These are Fallow Deer, Red Deer, Sambar Deer, Hog Deer, Rusa deer, and Chital Deerhttp://rubens.anu.edu.au/student.projects/rabbits/wildanim.html. Although exotic to the continent, environmental factors restrict their ranges to habitable patches, thereby preventing any one species from becoming a serious pest. Red Deer introduced into New Zealand in early 1900s (a gift from United States President Theodore Roosevelt) have been largely domesticated in deer farms since the late 1960s and are common farm animals there now.

Related Topics:
Australia - Antarctica - Africa - Introduced species - Fallow Deer - Red Deer - Sambar Deer - Hog Deer - Chital Deer - New Zealand - Theodore Roosevelt - Deer farm

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Deer differ from other ruminants in that they have antlers instead of horns. Antlers are bony growths that develop each year (usually in summer) and, in general, it is only male deer that develop them (although there are exceptions).

Related Topics:
Antler - Horn

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There are about 34 species of deer worldwide, divided into two broad groups: the old world group includes the subfamilies Muntiacinae and Cervinae; the new world deer the subfamilies Hydropotinae and Capreolinae. Note that the terms indicate the origin of the groups, not their modern distribution: the Water Deer, for example, is a new world species but is found only in China and Korea.

Related Topics:
Species - Water Deer - China - Korea

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It is thought that the new world group evolved about 5 million years ago in the forests of North America and Siberia, the old world deer in Asia.

Related Topics:
North America - Siberia - Asia

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The family Cervidae is organized as follows:

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• Subfamily Hydropotinae
• Chinese Water Deer (Hydroptes inermis)
• Subfamily Muntiacinae (mostly Muntjacs)
• Bornean Yellow Muntjac (Muntiacus atherodes)
• Black Muntjac (Muntiacus crinifrons)
• Fea's Muntjac (Muntiacus feae)
• Gongshan Muntjac (Muntiacus gongshanensis)
• Indian Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjac)
• Leaf Muntjac (Muntiacus putaoensis)
• Reeves' Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi)
• Truong Son Muntjac (Muntiacus trungsonensis)
• Giant Muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis)
• Tufted Deer (Elaphodus cephalophus)
• Subfamily Cervinae
• White-lipped Deer or Thorold's Deer (Cervus albirostris)
• Philippine Spotted Deer or Visayan Spotted Deer (Cervus alfredi)
• Barasingha (Cervus duvaucelii)
• Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) -- called elk or wapiti in America
• Thamin (Cervus eldii)
• Philippine Sambar or Philippine Brown Deer (Cervus mariannus)
• Sika Deer (Cervus nippon)
• Sunda Sambar or Rusa deer (Cervus timorensis)
• Sambar Deer (Cervus unicolor)
• Chital (Axis axis)
• Calamian Deer (Axis calamianensis)
• Bawean Deer (Axis kuhlii)
• Hog Deer (Axis porcinus)
• Père David's Deer (Elaphurus davidianus)
• Fallow Deer (Dama dama)
• Persian Fallow Deer (Dama mesopotamica)
• Subfamily Odocoilinae
• Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus)
• Moose (Alces alces)
• Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
• White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
• Pampas Deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus)
• Red Brocket (Mazama americana)
• Merioa Brocket (Mazama bricenii)
• Dwarf Brocket (Mazama chunyi)
• Grey Brocket (Mazama gouazoupira)
• Pygmy Brocket (Mazama nana)
• Yucatan Brown Brocket (Mazama pandora)
• Little Red Brocket (Mazama rufina)
• Northern Pudu (Pudu mephistophiles)
• Southern Pudu (Pudu pudu)
• Marsh Deer (Blastocerus dichotomus)
• Peruvian Guemal or North Andean Deer (Hippocamelus antisensis)
• Chilean Guemal or South Andean Deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus)
• Caribou/Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

Deer are selective feeders. They feed on leaves. They have small, unspecialised stomachs by herbivore standards, and high nutrition requirements: ingesting sufficient minerals to grow a new pair of antlers every year is a significant task. Rather than attempt to digest vast quantities of low-grade, fibrous food as, for example, sheep and cattle do, deer select easily digestible shoots, young leaves, fresh grasses, soft twigs, fruit, fungi, and lichens.

Related Topics:
Leaves - Stomach - Herbivore - Sheep - Cattle - Grasses - Twig - Fruit - Fungi - Lichen

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Deer have long had economic significance to humans. While they are generally not as easily domesticated as sheep, goats, pigs, and even cattle, the association between people and deer is very old. Deer meat, for which they are hunted and farmed, is called venison.

Related Topics:
Sheep - Goat - Pig - Cattle - Venison

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Deer: Hybrid Deer ►