Cervus dama
Fallow Deer prefer open deciduous and mixed forest with clearings and luxuriant underbrush, often near fields and grassland. Fallow Deer are 130–160 cm long, with a 20 cm tail, which is longer than that of other deer species. The area around the tail is white and demarcated above and on the sides by a clear black border. Fallow Deer measure 85–110 cm at the shoulder; the doe is smaller than the stag. The doe weighs 30–50 kg, the stag, 60–110 kg. At the start of the summer, adult deer have large, shovel-shaped antlers, which are ultimately shed in April/May.
Surrounding the genitals, Fallow Deer have a distinct tuft of hair. In summer the Fallow Deer’s coat is reddish brown above with numerous white spots, the underside is light brown, and there is a black stripe along the back, continuing all the way to the tip of the tail. In winter the stag is greyish brown above with blurred spots. The coats of Fallow Deer can be variably coloured; in summer they can be quite dark and without spots, or almost completely white, and many individuals fall on a spectrum somewhere between light and dark.
Fallow Deer live in herds the same way Red Deer do, though herds of Fallow Deer are looser. The stags form smaller groups or are solitary.
Fallow Deer are active mostly in the morning and evening, but if undisturbed, might also be seen during the day, like Red Deer.
Footprints are small and round, more elongated than those of Red Deer. An individual print has a sharp point and is narrow, the sides being almost parallel. The pads are large and half as long as the hoof. The doe’s footprint is 5–6 cm long and 3–3.5 cm wide, the stag’s, 6–8 cm long and 4–5 cm wide. On soft terrain and in snow, the dew claws are clearly visible in the print. The stride is 70–100 cm. The tracks of Roe Deer are smaller, and Roe have a shorter step; Red Deer footprints are larger, longer, and wider.
During the mating season, Fallow Deer fight doggedly. LG.
The distinctive tail area of a Fallow Deer. Biopix.
Sika Deer footprints resemble those of Fallow Deer, but are wider, and the feet are noticeably splayed. Tracks of domestic sheep also resemble those of Fallow Deer but are rounder and wider, and sheep never leave tracks with dew claws.
Fallow Deer feed on grass and plants, but also eat the leaves of trees and bushes and crops such as clover, and they also feed on berries, beechnuts, and acorns. The scat of Fallow Deer is similar to that of Red Deer but smaller, about 1–2 cm long and 0.8–1.2 cm thick, often thicker at one end and pointed at the other. The clumps are smaller than those made by Red Deer, and slightly larger than those of Roe Deer. Unlike Red Deer scat, especially in summer, that of Fallow Deer is found in relatively well-formed piles.
An adult Fallow Deer and a footprint in mud. AK; inset, LG.
As with other species, Fallow Deer can damage young trees and bushes by rubbing their antlers against them to rub off velvet; this usually occurs between July and the end of September.
Fallow Deer will also peel the bark off trees. The marks of grazing by Fallow Deer are at a lower height on the tree and usually on thinner trunks than Elk would use, but at the same height as those left by Red Deer; the tooth marks of a Fallow are smaller. In spring, Fallow Deer tear off long strips of bark, a behaviour you can quite easily see when they are in captivity.
Like Red Deer, Fallow scrape hollows for rutting but often place them much closer together. The Fallow Deer rut season lasts from October to early November.
Fallow Deer scat. LG.
Tracks of a Fallow Deer herd, as well as those of a hare and a fox. LG.
