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RED DEER FACTS |
Description
The Red Deer is the largest deer in Australia. The fur is reddish brown with a buff patch on the rump. The throat and underside are greyish. Males have a shaggy mane on neck and spreading antlers with 5 to 8 points (tines). The Red Deer is the same species as the Elk.
Other Names
Elk
Size
Length: Males 2.4m; females; 2.2m. Antlers can grow to span 1.5 m from tip to tip. Weight 90kg - 160kg.
Habitat
hilly open woodlands
Food
leaves, grass, bark, lichens, fungi
Breeding
A single calf is born (rarely twins) after gestation of 240 and 260 days. At birth, calves weigh around 15 to 16 kg and have creamy spots on their back and sides. The calf stays with mother for first two weeks or so. At 16 days the calf is able to join the herd, and is weaned after 60 days.
Range
Native to North America, Europe and Asia. In Australia, Red Deer are found in the Grampians National Park in Victoria and around the head of the Brisbane River inland from the Sunshine Coast in south east Queensland.
Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Classification
| Class: | Mammalia | | Order: | Artiodactyla | | Family: | Cervidae | | Genus: | Cervus | | Species: | elaphus | | Common Name: | Red Deer |
Relatives in same Genus
Hog Deer (C. porcinus)
Rusa (C. timorensis)
Sambar (C. unicolor)
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