Red deer (Cervus elaphus)
Shoulder height: 110–120cm.
Weight: Up to 225kg.
Lifespan: Up to 25 years

Red deer are the UK's largest land animals. The males have spectacular antlers, which branch out and can span up to 1m wide. They shed them every winter. The size and complexity of the antlers increase as the stag gets older. They are rarely used as weapons but more as a status symbol. Red deer have reddish-brown fur in summer, which becomes grey-brown in winter.
Red deer normally live in small single-sex herds and get together in autumn when the rutting season begins. Stags are very noisy during the rut and their bellowing can be heard from half a kilometre away. Females are solitary when giving birth, but then gather into herds with their young and non-breeding males.

Breeding:

The rut, or mating season, lasts for about a month in early autumn. In May or June a single calf is usually born, but twins are frequent in good habitats. The calf is born with white spots on its fur, but these disappear within a few weeks.

Diet:

Leaves, grasses, heather, rushes and tree bark, especially in the winter.

Deer tracks:

Their tracks are about 8cm long and 6.5cm across.

Habitat:

Forests, particularly conifer plantations in Scotland, but also open hillsides and moorland especially in Scotland and the Pennines.

Predators & threats:

Red deer have no natural predators in the UK. They are however shot as part of control programmes in certain parts of the country, particularly as they can cause damage to commercial tree plantations. Calves are most likely to die from cold and wet weather in winter.

Status & distribution:

Red deer are common in Scotland, including some of the Scottish islands. However, there are also scattered populations in England, including the New Forest, the Pennines, the Peak District, Cumbria, parts of East Anglia and parts of the south-west. They are commonly kept in deer parks throughout the country. Small populations also occur in Wales and Ireland.

Did you know?...

Red deer stags in woodlands and grasslands in the south of England usually produce larger antlers with more points than those that feed on poorer vegetation in the uplands of northern Britain.