DEER

SUBFAMILY CERVINAE

       The Cervinae or the Old World deer (denoting their place of origin, not their current distribution), are a subfamily of deer. Alternatively, they are known as the plesiometacarpal deer, due to their ankle structure being different from the telemetacarpal deer of the Capreolinae.

FALLOW DEER  

BUCK

DOE

  Native : Europe

  Characteristic :  

• Most herds consist of the common coat variation.
• Only bucks have antlers, which are broad and shovel-shaped (palmate) from three years. In the first two years the antler is a single spike.
• Agile and fast in case of danger, fallow deer can run at a maximum speed of 50 km/h (30 mph) over short distances.
• Fallow deer can also jump up to 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) high and up to 5 m (16 ft) in length. 
  

PERSIAN FALLOW DEER

  Scientific name : Dama mesopotamica

  Native : Middle East

  Characteristic :

•  Persian fallow deer are only morphologically distinguishable from other fallow deer by having antlers that are less palmated.

JAVAN RUSA

  Other name : Sunda sambar

  Scientific name : Rusa timorensis

  Native : Islands of Indonesia and East Timor

  Characteristic :  

• Rusa deer are distinguished by their large ears, the light tufts of hair above the eyebrows, and antlers that appear large relative to the body size. 
• The antlers are lyre-shaped and three-tined.
• The pelage is grayish-brown and often appears coarse.
• Unlike most other deer species, newborn fawns do not bear spots.

SAMBAR DEER

STAG

HIND

  Scientific name : Rusa unicolor

  Native : Indian subcontinent, South China, and Southeast Asia

  Characteristic :

• The large, rugged antlers are typically rusine, the brow tines being simple and the beams forked at the tip, so they have only three tines
• The antlers are typically up to 110 cm (43 in) long in fully adult individuals.
• The shaggy coat can be from yellowish brown to dark grey in colour, and while it is usually uniform in colour, some subspecies have chestnut marks on the rump and underparts.
• Sambar also have a small but dense mane, which tends to be more prominent in males.
  

RED DEER

STAG

HIND

  Scientific name : Cervus elaphus

  Native : Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina.

  Characteristic :  

• The red deer is the fourth-largest deer species.
• 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.
• During the autumn, all red deer subspecies grow thicker coats of hair, which helps to insulate them during the winter.
• 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 darker coat colouration in the summer.
  

THOROLD'S  DEER 

STAG

HIND

  Scientific name :

  Native : Eastern Tibetan Plateau

  Characteristic : 

• Thorold's deer is one of the largest deer species.
• The head is darker than the rest of the body, especially in males, and contrasts with pure white markings on the lips, around the nose, and the throat just below the chin.
• Thorold's deer has a number of physical and physiological adaptations to its high altitude environment. 
• The short legs and broad hooves make it an agile climber, able to use steep mountainous terrain to escape predators. 
• Their nasal cavities are unusually large, allowing them to breathe in rarified high altitude air, while the thick hair protects against the cold.
  

 SIKA DEER

STAG

HIND

  Scientific name :

  Native : East Asia

  Characteristic :  

• The sika deer is one of the few deer species that does not lose its spots upon reaching maturity.
• The color of the pelage ranges from mahogany to black, and white individuals are also known.
• Sika stags have stout, upright antlers with an extra buttress up from the brow tine and a very thick wall. 
• A forward-facing intermediate tine breaks the line to the top, which is usually forked. Occasionally, sika antlers develop some palmation (flat areas). 
• Females carry a pair of distinctive black bumps on the forehead.

 ELK

BULL

COW

  Scientific name : Cervus canadensis

  Native : North America and Northeast Asia

  Characteristic :  

• The elk is a large animal of the ungulate.
• Elk are more than twice as heavy as mule deer and have a more reddish hue to their hair coloring, as well as large, buff-colored rump patches and smaller tails.
• Only the males have antlers, which start growing in the spring and are shed each winter.
• While actively growing, the antlers are covered with and protected by a soft layer of highly vascularised skin known as velvet. 
  

 ELD'S DEER

MALE

FEMALE

  Scientific name : Panolia eldii

  Native : South Asia

  Characteristic :  

• The species has a very regal and graceful Cervus physique. 
• Its legs are thin and long, and has a long body with a large head on a thin neck. 
• The throat of a male has a thick mane of long hair.
• Their coats, rough and coarse, change colour with the season; in summer the colour is reddish-brown, while in winter, it turns dark brown, with males tending to be darker than the females. 
• The tail is short in length and the rump has no distinct patch.
  

PERE DAVID'S DEER 

MALE

FEMALE

  Other name : Milu or Elaphure

  Scientific name : Elaphurus davidianus

  Native : River valleys of China

  Characteristic :  

• The head is long and slender with large eyes, very large preorbital glands, a naked nose pad and small, pointed ears.
• The branched antlers are unique in that the long tines point backward, while the main beam extends almost directly upward.
• The coat is reddish tan in the summer, changing to a dull gray in the winter.
• There is a mane on the neck and throat and a black dorsal stripe running along the cervicothoracic spine.
• The tail is about 50 centimeters (20 in) in length, with a dark tuft at the end. 
• The hooves are large and spreading, and make clicking sounds when the animal is moving.
  

 BARASINGHA 

MALE

FEMALE

  Scientific name : Rucervus duvaucelii

  Native : Indian subcontinent

  Characteristic : 

• Its hair is rather woolly and yellowish brown above but paler below, with white spots along the spine. 
• The throat, belly, inside of the thighs and beneath the tail is white. 
• In summer the coat becomes bright rufous-brown. 
• The neck is maned. Females are paler than males. Young are spotted.
• Average antlers measure 30 in (76 cm) round the curve with a girth of 5 in (13 cm) at mid beam.

 INDIAN HOG DEER

MALE

FEMALE

  Scientific name : Hyelaphus porcinus

  Native : Indo-Gangetic Plain in Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh to mainland Southeast Asia.

  Characteristic : 

• Indian hog deer have preorbital glands on the face just below the eyes and metatarsal glands located high on the side of the rear legs. 
• Pedal glands are located between the cleaves or toes of the hind hooves.
• The antlers of a mature hog deer stag are typically three tined-brow tine, with a solid main beam terminating in inner and outer top tines.
• The Indian hog deer's coat is quite thick, and generally a uniform dark-brown in winter, except for the underparts of the body and legs, which are lighter in colour.
  

 CHITAL DEER

STAG

DOE

  Other name :

  Scientific name : Axis axis

  Native : Indian subcontinent

  Characteristic : 

• The chital is a moderately sized deer.
• The dorsal (upper) parts are golden to rufous, completely covered in white spots. 
• The abdomen, rump, throat, insides of legs, ears, and tail are all white. A conspicuous black stripe runs along the spine (back bone). 
• The chital has well-developed preorbital glands (near the eyes) which have stiff hairs.
• Each of the antlers has three lines on it. 

TUFTED DEER

FEMALE

MALE

  Native : Central China, Northeastern Myanmar

  Characteristic : 

• Characterized by a prominent tuft of black hair on its forehead and fang-like canines for the males.
• The coat is coarse with short and stiff hairs, being almost black in the winter and chocolate brown in the summer. The lips, tip of the ears, and the underside of the tails are white.  
• The tail is short at around 10 cm (3.9 in). 
• The antler is only present in males and is extremely short, almost hidden by its long tuft of hair.

REEVE'S MUNTJAC

  Scientific name : Muntiacus reevesi

  Native : Southeastern China, Taiwan, Belgium, Netherlands, United Kingdom , Ireland and Japan.

  Characteristic : 

• It is reddish-brown in appearance with striped markings on its face. 
• The belly is creamy-white, with lighter fur extending to the neck, chin, and the underside of the tail. 
• The males have short antlers, usually 4 in (10 cm) or less, and long upper canines (tusks), usually about 2 in (5.1 cm) long. 
• Females have bony lumps on their foreheads and localized black spots.
  

SUBFAMILY CAPREOLINAE              

              The Capreolinae, Odocoileinae, or the New World deer are a subfamily of deer. Alternatively, they are known as the telemetacarpal deer, due to their bone structure being different from the plesiometacarpal deer subfamily Cervinae. The telemetacarpal deer maintain their distal lateral metacarpals, while the plesiometacarpal deer maintain only their proximal lateral metacarpals. The Capreolinae are believed to have originated in the Middle Miocene, between 7.7 and 11.5 million years ago, in central Asia.

REINDEER

  Scientific name : Rangifer tarandus

  Native : Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America.

  Characteristic :  

• In most populations both sexes grow antlers; the reindeer is the only cervid species in which females grow them as well as males.
• The colour of the fur varies considerably, both between individuals and depending on season and subspecies.
• The coat has two layers of fur: a dense woolly undercoat and longer-haired overcoat consisting of hollow, air-filled hairs.
• The reindeer has large feet with crescent-shaped, cloven hooves for walking in snow or swamps.
  

RED BROCKET 

  Scientific name : Mazama americana

  Native : South America, Argentina, Colombia, Guianas, Island of Trinidad, Tobago.

  Characteristic : 

• Its body is reddish-brown in color, with a lighter grayish-brown head and neck, and partially blackish legs.
• The inner thighs and the underside of the tail are white. 
• Fawns are spotted white and lack blackish to the legs.
• Only the adult male has antlers, and these are small and spike-like. This species is the largest of the brockets. 
  

WHITE TAILED DEER 

BUCK

DOE

  Other name :

  Scientific name : Odocoileus virginianus

  Native : North America, Central America, Ecuador, South America, New Zealand and Europe.

  Characteristic : 

•   The deer's coat is a reddish-brown in the spring and summer and turns to a grey-brown throughout the fall and winter. 
• The deer can be recognized by the characteristic white underside to its tail.
•  It raises its tail when it is alarmed to warn the predator that it has been detected.
• Males regrow their antlers every year.
• Bucks without branching antlers are often termed "spikehorn", "spiked bucks", "spike bucks", or simply "spikes/spikers". The spikes can be quite long or very short.
  

 MULE DEER

  Scientific name : Odocoileus hemionus

  Native : Western North America.

  Characteristic :  

• The mule deer's tail is black-tipped, whereas the white-tailed deer's is not. 
• Mule deer antlers are bifurcated; they "fork" as they grow, rather than branching from a single main beam, as is the case with white-taileds.
• Each spring, a buck's antlers start to regrow almost immediately after the old antlers are shed.
• Although capable of running, mule deer are often seen stotting (also called pronking), with all four feet coming down together.  

 MARSH DEER

STAG

 

DOE

  Scientific name :

  Native : South America

  Characteristic : 

• They possess very large ears lined with white hairs, red-gold to tawny brown fur, blackish eyes and long dark legs. 
• The hair turns darker during winter. There are also white marks on the hips and around the eyes. The legs are black below the tarsal as is the muzzle. 
• The tail is of a paler reddish tone than the rest of the body on its upper part and black on the under part.

GRAY BROCKET 

FEMALE

MALE

  Scientific name : Mazama gouazoubira

  Native : Northern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Peru, eastern and southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

  Characteristic :  

• The coat of a gray brocket can range from gray-brown to dark brown. 
• Lighter, browner coats are seen in those that live in grasslands, whereas grayer, darker colors are more prevalent in forest regions. 
• Significant variation can be seen between individuals of the same population, as well.
• Their tails are white on the bottom, and on their flanks the hair is of a lighter color than that of the rest of the body.

 PUDU

NORTHERN PUDU

SOUTHERN PUDU

 

  Scientific name : Northen pudu (Pudu mephistophiles), Southern pudu (Pudu puda)

  Native : South American

  Characteristic :

• The pudus are the world's smallest deer, with the southern pudu being slightly larger than the northern pudu.
• It has a stocky frame supported by four short and slender legs.
• Sexual dimorphism in the species includes an absence of antlers in females. 
• Males have short, spiked antlers that are not forked, as seen in most species of deer. The antlers, which are shed annually,
• Coat coloration varies with season, sex, and individual genes. The fur is long and stiff, typically pressed close to the body, with a reddish-brown to dark-brown hue.
• The neck and shoulders of an aged pudu turn a dark gray-brown in the winter.
  

 TARUCA 

  Other name : North Andean deer

  Scientific name : Hippocamelus antisensis

  Native : South America

  Characteristic : 

• The taruca is a medium-sized deer with a heavy body.
• It has sandy brown hair over most of its body, with white patches on the underside of its head, neck, tail, and genital region, and on the inner surface of its fore-legs. 
• While females often have a dark brown area on the forehead, facial markings are much clearer in the males. 
• The exact patterns vary between different males, but in general there is a black behind the nose, and a black Y or V pattern over the forehead and snout.
• Males also possess canine teeth in their upper jaw, which females usually, but not always, lack.
  

 ROE DEER

  Other name : Roe, Western roe deer or European roe

  Scientific name : Capreolus capreolus

  Native : Europe

  Characteristic : 

• Bucks in good conditions develop antlers up to 20–25 cm (8–10 in) long with two or three, rarely even four, points. 
• When the male's antlers begin to regrow, they are covered in a thin layer of velvet-like fur which disappears later on after the hair's blood supply is lost. 
• Males may speed up the process by rubbing their antlers on trees, so that their antlers are hard and stiff for the duels during the mating season. 
•  Unlike most cervids, roe deer begin regrowing antlers almost immediately after they are shed.
  

 WATER DEER

  Scientific name : Hydropotes inermis

  Native : China and Korea

  Characteristic : 

• The coat is an overall golden brown color and may be interspersed with black hairs, while the undersides are white. 
• The strongly tapered face is reddish-brown or gray, and the chin and upper throat are cream-colored. 
• The hair is longest on the flanks and rump. In the fall, the summer coat is gradually replaced by a thicker, coarse-haired winter coat that varies from light brown to grayish brown. 
• The ears are short and very rounded, and both sexes lack antlers.
• The water deer have developed long canine teeth which protrude from the upper jaw like the canines of musk deer. 
  

 MOOSE OR ELK

BULL

COW

  Scientific name : Alces alces

  Native : Canada, Alaska, New England, Fennoscandia, the Baltic states, and Russia.

  Characteristic : 

• The moose (North America) or elk (Eurasia), is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. 
• Most adult male moose have distinctive broad, palmate ("open-hand shaped") antlers; most other members of the deer family have antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like")  configuration.
• Their fur consist of two layers; top layer of long guard hairs and a soft wooly undercoat. The guard hairs are hollow and filled with air for better insulation, which also helps them stay afloat when swimming.
• The tail is short (6 cm to 8 cm in length) and vestigial in appearance.