Physical Description
The Fallow Deer is a slender medium sized deer. It is quite distinctive in appearance because of its characteristic markings. The Fallow Deer has a graceful appearance, which along with its placid temperament has made it a popular parkland deer.
Males, which are known as bucks, are larger and heavier in size than the females, or does. The bucks tend to have larger more muscular necks than the females. Bucks also carry antlers, which the does do not. The antlers grow afresh each year. They are lost or cast in March or April, and a new set begins to grow straight away. The antlers reach there full size by about August and are ready to use in the mating season about a month later.
The antlers in the Fallow Deer are impressive. Unlike most other deer, the antlers of the Fallow Deer are broad and flattened, being rather palmate in shape. The antlers grow to over 70 cm in length. The tines at the front and middle of the antlers are the longest and, the other tines mainly being extensions of the large flattened blade. The size of the antlers depends on the age of the buck, with mature males having the largest strongest antlers.
Habitat and Distribution
During and shortly after the last ice age Fallow Deer were found in North Africa, Asia Minor and parts of the Middle East and Balkans. However early hunting by man soon reduced this range until they were found only in Asia Minor. Ancient sailors such as the Phoenicians introduced it to new locations around the Mediterranean and increased its range. The Romans continued this process. Later still nobles stocked their hunting estates with Fallow Deer and further increased its range during the Middle Ages. In Victorian times it became a popular parkland animal of rich gentry.
Today the Fallow Deer is found in many European countries. It remains a popular parkland deer, and is also often kept in deer enclosures. There are also a large number of wild living populations. Although the Fallow Deer can be found in many areas, its distribution remains somewhat scattered and localised. They have also been introduced outside of Europe, notably into the USA.
