Deer

Cervidae Temporal range: EarlyOligocene– Recent
A fully grown malered deer
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Suborder:	Ruminantia
Infraorder:	Pecora
Family:	Cervidae

Adeeris aeven-toed ungulatemammalin the family Cervidae.They form thefamilyCervidae.The word 'deer' is bothsingularandplural.

A male deer is called astagorbuck,a female deer is called ahind or doe,and a young deer is called afawn, kid or calf.

There are about 60speciesof deer. They originally lived in theNorthern Hemisphere,and now are native toEurope,Asia,North AmericaandSouth America.Humans have introduced deer to places where they did not live naturally, such asAustralia,New Zealand,HawaiiandSouth Africa.

Antlers

Almost all adult deer haveantlers,except one, thewater deer,which hastusks.Only male deer have antlers, except forreindeer(caribou), where both sexes carry antlers. The antlers are deciduous, and drop off after the mating season. Their main use is for males to fight for groups of females during the rutting season (mating season).

Musk deer(familyMoschidae) andchevrotains(Tragulidae) have no antlers, and arenotdeer. They areruminants(Ruminantia). They are no more closely related to deer than any other even-toed ungulates. Their evolutionary history is not well-known, and they are often described as "not true deer".

Behaviour

Deer do not make nests or dens. They find a safe and comfortable place to rest under low hanging evergreen branches. They stay close to where they can find food. In summer, they eat grasses, plants and weeds. In the fall, they like mushrooms and small branches. They do not store their food for the winter. If the snow is not deep, they use their hooves to uncover moss and leaves. If the snow is deep, they eat twigs and branches.

The doe usually has one or two fawns in the spring. The fawn isprecocial,and can stand immediately after birth, but is weak. The doe will hide each fawn in a different place. They are camouflaged by spots on their backs.

Deer have many predators. Wolves, cougar, dogs and people will eat deer. They are always looking, listening and smelling for danger.

Group behaviour

Generally speaking, deer prefer mixed forest and grassland areas. In former times, wolves were the number one enemy of deer. Even though deer today rarely need to defend against attack, their behaviour is adapted to succeed in mating, and protect themselves and their relatives from predators.

The rut establishes which males are dominant, and each successful male has a group of females. The group stays together until the fawns are born, about four or five months. Deer are by nature gregarious (social) and like to live together. This helps theirdefence against predators.The details vary between species.The actual defence against attack is decided by the dominant male. He decides whether to stand and, if necessary, to fight. Males keep their antlers for half a year. If they run, deer are outstanding runners. If they stand, they can kick. They will not attack humans unless the male senses danger. He gives warning by posture and sound. Stags tend to join up in male groups for mutual defence once their antlers are shed. The females also join up in large herds which can defend themselves fairly well. Deer stay in these single-sex groups for much of the year.

Diet

Deer are browsers, and feed mainly on leaves. Deer choose easily digestibleshoots,young leaves, fresh grasses, soft twigs,fruit,fungi,andlichens.This is mostly low-fibre food. The male deer need minerals such ascalciumandphosphatefor their antler growth.

Evolution

Deer are amonophyleticgroup.They originated in thenorthern hemisphereand arrived in someGondwanacontinents much later.Red deerare found in theAtlas MountainsofNorth Africa,and some deer arrived in South America via theGreat American Interchange.

BelowNorth Africathere are no deer. Their place in theecosystemsis taken byantelopes,which occupy anichesimilar to the deer. Antelopes are not a monophyletic group. The antelope types have evolved from severalbovidgroups, and are an example ofconvergent evolution.

Taxonomy

Bullmooseon Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge.

A babyroe deer,hiding

Awhite-tailed deermother and her baby

Femalefallow deer

In shaded areas they are not so easy to see

The deer family has about 62species.

• FamilyCervidae
  • SubfamilyHydropotinae:Water deer
    • GenusHydropotes
      • Water deer,Hydropotes inermis
  • SubfamilyMuntiacinae:Muntjacs
    • GenusMuntiacus:Muntjacs
    • GenusElaphodus
      • Tufted deer,Elaphodus cephalophus
  • SubfamilyCapreolinae:New World deer
    • GenusCapreolus
      • Roe deer,Capreolus capreolus
      • Siberian roe deer,Capreolus pygargus
    • GenusOdocoileus
      • White-tailed deer,Odocoileus virginianus
      • Mule deer,Odocoileus hemionus
    • GenusOzotoceros
      • Pampas deer,Ozotoceros bezoarticus
    • GenusBlastocerus
      • Marsh deer,Blastocerus dichotomus
    • GenusMazama:Brocket deer
    • GenusPudu:Pudú
    • GenusRangifer
      • Reindeer,Rangifer tarandus
    • GenusHippocamelus:Andean deer
    • GenusAlces
      • Moose,Alces alces
  • SubfamilyCervinae:True deer, Old World deer
    • GenusAxis
      • Chital,Axis axis
      • Hog deer,Axis porcinus
      • Bawean deer,Axis kuhlii
      • Calamian deer,Axis calamianensis
    • GenusElaphurus
      • Père David's deer,Elaphurus davidianus
    • GenusCervus
      • Red deer,Cervus elaphus
      • Wapiti(Elk)Cervus canadensis
      • White-lipped deer,Cervus albirostris
      • Sika deer,Cervus nippon
      • Barasingha,Cervus duvaucelii
      • Schomburgk's deer,Cervus schomburgki†
      • Thamin,Cervus eldii
      • Sambar deer,Cervus unicolor
      • Rusa deer,Cervus timorensis
      • Philippine deer,Cervus mariannus
      • Philippine spotted deer,Cervus alfredi
    • GenusDama
      • Fallow deer,Dama dama

Miscellaneous

The most famousfictionaldeer isBambi.

Other websites

• Data related toDeerat Wikispecies
• Media related toCervidaeat Wikimedia Commons