| Species to Hunt | Fallow deer

Fallow deer: Dama dama

Life span

Up to 16 years.

Statistics

Body length: 130-160cm, Shoulder height: 85-100cm, Weight: Males: 60-85kg, Females: 30-50kg.

Physical Description

Fallow deer have many colour varieties, but they are typically fawn-coloured in the summer and reddish-brown in the winter. They have yellow-white undersides, white spots and a black line that runs along the back to the tip of the tail. The spots become less conspicuous or disappear in winter. Males have palmate (flattened) antlers.

Distribution

Fallow deer are native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and from Turkey to Iran, but they have been introduced to 38 countries.

Habitat

Fallow deer typically occupy deciduous woodland with open patches.

Diet

They are grazers, feeding on grasses, herbs, berries, acorns and bark.

Behaviour

Fallow deer commonly gather in herds of 4-5, but in good feeding areas, groupings of 70-100 may gather. When competing for access to females, males display by groaning, thrashing their antlers and by walking alongside their opponent. Fighting occurs if both stags are evening matched, and involves wrestling and clashing of antlers.

Reproduction

Does give birth to a single fawn after a gestation period of 31-32 weeks. She usually leaves the herd to look for a hiding place to give birth. After the fawn is born, it remains in its hiding place (in bushes or dense vegetation). The doe returns every four hours to feed it until it is about four months old, when it joins the herd. The fawn is weaned after 7-9 months.

Conservation status

The Persian fallow deer (Dama dama mesopotamica) is classified as Endangered, but other subspecies are not considered to be at threat.