Difference between revisions of "Deer" - New World Encyclopedia
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==Description and behavior== | ==Description and behavior== | ||
| − | Deer are widely distributed with representatives in all continents except [[Australia]], [[Antarctica]], and [[Africa]]. Most species of deer live in forested or partly wooded areas, although some live in grasslands, marshlands, and tundra. Deer are selective feeders. Most feed on [[leaf|leaves]]. They have small, | + | Deer are widely distributed with representatives in all continents except [[Australia]], [[Antarctica]], and [[Africa]]. Most species of deer live in forested or partly wooded areas, although some live in grasslands, marshlands, and tundra. Deer are selective feeders. Most feed on [[leaf|leaves]]. They have small, unspecialized [[stomach]]s by [[herbivore]] standards, and high nutrition requirements: ingesting sufficient minerals to grow a new pair of antlers every year is a significant task. Rather than attempt to digest vast quantities of low-grade, fibrous food as, for example, [[sheep]] and [[cattle]] do, deer tend to select easily digestible shoots, young leaves, fresh [[grasses]], soft twigs, [[fruit]], [[fungus|fungi]], and [[lichen]]s. |
[[Image:Red deer.jpg|thumb|left|Male and female red deer]] | [[Image:Red deer.jpg|thumb|left|Male and female red deer]] | ||
| − | Deer differ from other | + | Deer vary in size from the Southern pudu which stands about 35 to 40 cm (14 to 15 inches) tall and weighs 9 to 15 kg (20 to 33 lbs) to the moose, called "elk" in Europe, which stands about 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) tall and weighs about 400 to 500 kg (900 to 100 lbs) (Huffman 2006) |
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| + | Deer differ from most other hoofed mammals in that they have antlers instead of horns. Antlers are growths of bone that develop each year, usually in summer. In general, it is only male deer (bucks) that develop antlers; except for caribou, also called reindeer, in which females also have antlers. A young buck's first pair of antlers grow from two tiny bumps on their head that they have had from birth. The antlers grow wrapped in a thick layer of blood-rich skin called "velvet" and remain that way until the bone inside is hard; later the velvet is shed. During the mating season, bucks use their antlers to fight one another for the opportunity to attract mates in a given herd. The two bucks circle each other, bend back their legs, lower their heads, and charge. Antlers are also thought to make the males more attractive to the females by showing maturity and good health. After the mating season the antlers drop off and the deer is antlerless until the next summer. | ||
[[Image:Male red deer head.jpg|thumb|Red deer with antlers in velvet]] | [[Image:Male red deer head.jpg|thumb|Red deer with antlers in velvet]] | ||
A female deer (doe) generally has one or two young (fawns) at a time (triplets, while not unusual, are much more infrequent). The gestation period is anywhere between 160 days (just over 5 months) in the musk deer to ten months for the roe deer. Most fawns are born with their fur covered with white spots, though they lose their spots once they get older (excluding the fallow deer which keeps its spots for life). In the first twenty minutes of a fawn's life, the fawn begins to take its first steps. Its mother licks it clean until it is almost free of scent, so predators will not find it. Its mother leaves often, and the fawn does not like to be left behind. Sometimes its mother must gently push it down with her foot. The fawn stays hidden in the grass for one week until it is strong enough to walk with its mother. After two days, a fawn is able to walk, and by three weeks it can run and jump. The fawn and its mother stay together for about one year. They then go their separate ways. A male usually never sees his mother again, but females sometimes come back with their own fawns and form small herds. | A female deer (doe) generally has one or two young (fawns) at a time (triplets, while not unusual, are much more infrequent). The gestation period is anywhere between 160 days (just over 5 months) in the musk deer to ten months for the roe deer. Most fawns are born with their fur covered with white spots, though they lose their spots once they get older (excluding the fallow deer which keeps its spots for life). In the first twenty minutes of a fawn's life, the fawn begins to take its first steps. Its mother licks it clean until it is almost free of scent, so predators will not find it. Its mother leaves often, and the fawn does not like to be left behind. Sometimes its mother must gently push it down with her foot. The fawn stays hidden in the grass for one week until it is strong enough to walk with its mother. After two days, a fawn is able to walk, and by three weeks it can run and jump. The fawn and its mother stay together for about one year. They then go their separate ways. A male usually never sees his mother again, but females sometimes come back with their own fawns and form small herds. | ||
[[Image:kid-jbk.jpg|thumb|left|Roe deer fawn 2-3 weeks old.]] | [[Image:kid-jbk.jpg|thumb|left|Roe deer fawn 2-3 weeks old.]] | ||
| − | Deer generally have lithe, compact bodies and long, powerful legs suited for rugged woodland terrain. Deer are also excellent swimmers. Their lower cheek teeth have crescent ridges of enamel, which enable them to grind a wide variety of vegetation. Deer are ruminants or cud-chewers and have a four-chambered stomach. Nearly all deer have a facial gland in front of each eye. The gland contains a strongly scented substance called [[pheromone]], used to mark its home range. Bucks of a wide range of species open these glands wide when angry or excited. All deer have a [[liver]] without a [[gallbladder]]. | + | Deer generally have lithe, compact bodies and long, powerful legs suited for rugged woodland terrain. Deer are also excellent swimmers. Their lower cheek teeth have crescent ridges of enamel, which enable them to grind a wide variety of vegetation. Deer are ruminants or cud-chewers and have a four-chambered stomach. Nearly all deer have a facial gland in front of each eye. The gland contains a strongly scented substance called [[pheromone]], used to mark its home range. Bucks of a wide range of species open these glands wide when angry or excited. All deer have a [[liver]] without a [[gallbladder]]. The Chinese water deer has no antlers and bears upper canines developed into tusks. |
==Deer and humans== | ==Deer and humans== | ||
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Deer have long been important to [[human]]s. In prehistoric Europe before the beginning of [[agriculture]] the red deer, called the elk in North America, was one of the two most widely hunted large animals; the other being the [[pig|wild boar]]. Besides the meat, the skin and the antlers of deer were also valued. Since an antler is solid bone, in contrast to the leg bones which are hollow, it is one of the strongest natural materials and was used for digging tools, handles of axes, and many other uses (Clutton-Brook 1999). | Deer have long been important to [[human]]s. In prehistoric Europe before the beginning of [[agriculture]] the red deer, called the elk in North America, was one of the two most widely hunted large animals; the other being the [[pig|wild boar]]. Besides the meat, the skin and the antlers of deer were also valued. Since an antler is solid bone, in contrast to the leg bones which are hollow, it is one of the strongest natural materials and was used for digging tools, handles of axes, and many other uses (Clutton-Brook 1999). | ||
| − | Today deer still provide many products for human use. | + | Today deer still provide many products for human use. Deer skin is used for shoes, boots, and gloves. Antlers are made into buttons and knife handles and used in traditional medicine. Deer meat, called venison, although not as popular as in earlier times, is still eaten by many. Most commercial venison in the [[United States]] is imported from [[New Zealand]], where deer farms number more than 3,500 with more than 400,000 deer in all. |
[[Image:Reindeer.yate.arp.750pix.jpg|thumb|Reindeer]] | [[Image:Reindeer.yate.arp.750pix.jpg|thumb|Reindeer]] | ||
The Saami of Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula of [[Russia]] and other nomadic peoples of northern [[Asia]] domesticated, or at least semi-domesticated, reindeer and used them for food, clothing, and transport. The moose and the red deer have also been tamed and even used as riding animals, but have never been domesticated (Geist 1999). | The Saami of Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula of [[Russia]] and other nomadic peoples of northern [[Asia]] domesticated, or at least semi-domesticated, reindeer and used them for food, clothing, and transport. The moose and the red deer have also been tamed and even used as riding animals, but have never been domesticated (Geist 1999). | ||
[[image:Fawn_in_Forest_edit.jpg|left|thumb|Fawn]] | [[image:Fawn_in_Forest_edit.jpg|left|thumb|Fawn]] | ||
| − | In North America deer were hunted almost to extinction but made a great comeback in twentieth century. The white-tailed deer especially has done well and is now found from northern South America | + | In North America most species of deer were hunted almost to extinction but made a great comeback in twentieth century. The white-tailed deer especially has done well and is now found from northern South America to the southern tip of Hudson Bay in Canada. Some of the factors have helped deer are restrictions on hunting, the reduction of predators such as wolves, and the opening up of the forest by logging and clearing of the land for farming (Forsyth 1999). |
Humans have introduced species of deer to areas where they are not native and sometimes this has caused problems, including the destruction of native plants, competition with native animals, and the spread of disease. The red deer is listed as one of the world's 100 worst invasive species by the Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG 2006). | Humans have introduced species of deer to areas where they are not native and sometimes this has caused problems, including the destruction of native plants, competition with native animals, and the spread of disease. The red deer is listed as one of the world's 100 worst invasive species by the Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG 2006). | ||
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==Genera and species of deer== | ==Genera and species of deer== | ||
| − | There are about 34 [[species]] of deer worldwide, divided into two broad groups: the old world group includes the subfamilies Muntiacinae and Cervinae; the new world deer the subfamilies Hydropotinae and Capreolinae. Note that the terms indicate the origin of the groups, not their modern distribution: the | + | There are about 34 [[species]] of deer worldwide, divided into two broad groups: the old world group includes the subfamilies Muntiacinae and Cervinae; the new world deer the subfamilies Hydropotinae and Capreolinae. Note that the terms indicate the origin of the groups, not their modern distribution: the water deer, for example, is a new world species but is found only in [[China]] and [[Korea]]. |
It is thought that the new world group evolved about 5 million years ago in the forests of [[North America]] and [[Siberia]], the old world deer in [[Asia]]. | It is thought that the new world group evolved about 5 million years ago in the forests of [[North America]] and [[Siberia]], the old world deer in [[Asia]]. | ||
Revision as of 16:32, 28 November 2006
| Deer | ||||||||||||
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 Male White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus | ||||||||||||
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Capreolinae |
Deer are members of the Cervidae family of the order Artiodactyla, or even-toed hoofed mammals. Deer are mainly native to the Northern Hemisphere, in both the Old and the New World, where they are one of the most successful families of large animals. They are especially notable in that almost all species have antlers, something that is found in no other animal family. The closely related musk deer of the Moschidae family and the mouse deer of the Tragulidae family do not have antlers.
Description and behavior
Deer are widely distributed with representatives in all continents except Australia, Antarctica, and Africa. Most species of deer live in forested or partly wooded areas, although some live in grasslands, marshlands, and tundra. Deer are selective feeders. Most feed on leaves. They have small, unspecialized stomachs by herbivore standards, and high nutrition requirements: ingesting sufficient minerals to grow a new pair of antlers every year is a significant task. Rather than attempt to digest vast quantities of low-grade, fibrous food as, for example, sheep and cattle do, deer tend to select easily digestible shoots, young leaves, fresh grasses, soft twigs, fruit, fungi, and lichens.
Deer vary in size from the Southern pudu which stands about 35 to 40 cm (14 to 15 inches) tall and weighs 9 to 15 kg (20 to 33 lbs) to the moose, called "elk" in Europe, which stands about 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) tall and weighs about 400 to 500 kg (900 to 100 lbs) (Huffman 2006)
Deer differ from most other hoofed mammals in that they have antlers instead of horns. Antlers are growths of bone that develop each year, usually in summer. In general, it is only male deer (bucks) that develop antlers; except for caribou, also called reindeer, in which females also have antlers. A young buck's first pair of antlers grow from two tiny bumps on their head that they have had from birth. The antlers grow wrapped in a thick layer of blood-rich skin called "velvet" and remain that way until the bone inside is hard; later the velvet is shed. During the mating season, bucks use their antlers to fight one another for the opportunity to attract mates in a given herd. The two bucks circle each other, bend back their legs, lower their heads, and charge. Antlers are also thought to make the males more attractive to the females by showing maturity and good health. After the mating season the antlers drop off and the deer is antlerless until the next summer.
A female deer (doe) generally has one or two young (fawns) at a time (triplets, while not unusual, are much more infrequent). The gestation period is anywhere between 160 days (just over 5 months) in the musk deer to ten months for the roe deer. Most fawns are born with their fur covered with white spots, though they lose their spots once they get older (excluding the fallow deer which keeps its spots for life). In the first twenty minutes of a fawn's life, the fawn begins to take its first steps. Its mother licks it clean until it is almost free of scent, so predators will not find it. Its mother leaves often, and the fawn does not like to be left behind. Sometimes its mother must gently push it down with her foot. The fawn stays hidden in the grass for one week until it is strong enough to walk with its mother. After two days, a fawn is able to walk, and by three weeks it can run and jump. The fawn and its mother stay together for about one year. They then go their separate ways. A male usually never sees his mother again, but females sometimes come back with their own fawns and form small herds.
Deer generally have lithe, compact bodies and long, powerful legs suited for rugged woodland terrain. Deer are also excellent swimmers. Their lower cheek teeth have crescent ridges of enamel, which enable them to grind a wide variety of vegetation. Deer are ruminants or cud-chewers and have a four-chambered stomach. Nearly all deer have a facial gland in front of each eye. The gland contains a strongly scented substance called pheromone, used to mark its home range. Bucks of a wide range of species open these glands wide when angry or excited. All deer have a liver without a gallbladder. The Chinese water deer has no antlers and bears upper canines developed into tusks.
Deer and humans
Deer have long been important to humans. In prehistoric Europe before the beginning of agriculture the red deer, called the elk in North America, was one of the two most widely hunted large animals; the other being the wild boar. Besides the meat, the skin and the antlers of deer were also valued. Since an antler is solid bone, in contrast to the leg bones which are hollow, it is one of the strongest natural materials and was used for digging tools, handles of axes, and many other uses (Clutton-Brook 1999).
Today deer still provide many products for human use. Deer skin is used for shoes, boots, and gloves. Antlers are made into buttons and knife handles and used in traditional medicine. Deer meat, called venison, although not as popular as in earlier times, is still eaten by many. Most commercial venison in the United States is imported from New Zealand, where deer farms number more than 3,500 with more than 400,000 deer in all.
The Saami of Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula of Russia and other nomadic peoples of northern Asia domesticated, or at least semi-domesticated, reindeer and used them for food, clothing, and transport. The moose and the red deer have also been tamed and even used as riding animals, but have never been domesticated (Geist 1999).
In North America most species of deer were hunted almost to extinction but made a great comeback in twentieth century. The white-tailed deer especially has done well and is now found from northern South America to the southern tip of Hudson Bay in Canada. Some of the factors have helped deer are restrictions on hunting, the reduction of predators such as wolves, and the opening up of the forest by logging and clearing of the land for farming (Forsyth 1999).
Humans have introduced species of deer to areas where they are not native and sometimes this has caused problems, including the destruction of native plants, competition with native animals, and the spread of disease. The red deer is listed as one of the world's 100 worst invasive species by the Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG 2006).
Besides practical considerations deer have long fascinated humans with their beauty, grace, power, and mystery. They have often been the subjects of artists and poets. The "Song of the Elk" of the Native American Sioux people says (Bauer1995):
- "Whoever considers themselves beautiful after seeing me has no heart."
Genera and species of deer
There are about 34 species of deer worldwide, divided into two broad groups: the old world group includes the subfamilies Muntiacinae and Cervinae; the new world deer the subfamilies Hydropotinae and Capreolinae. Note that the terms indicate the origin of the groups, not their modern distribution: the water deer, for example, is a new world species but is found only in China and Korea.
It is thought that the new world group evolved about 5 million years ago in the forests of North America and Siberia, the old world deer in Asia.
The family Cervidae is organized as follows:
- Subfamily Hydropotinae
- Chinese Water Deer (Hydroptes inermis)
- Subfamily Muntiacinae (mostly Muntjacs)
- Bornean Yellow Muntjac (Muntiacus atherodes)
- Black Muntjac (Muntiacus crinifrons)
- Fea's Muntjac (Muntiacus feae)
- Gongshan Muntjac (Muntiacus gongshanensis)
- Indian Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjac)
- Leaf Muntjac (Muntiacus putaoensis)
- Reeves' Muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi)
- Truong Son Muntjac (Muntiacus trungsonensis)
- Giant Muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis)
- Tufted Deer (Elaphodus cephalophus)
- Subfamily Cervinae
- White-lipped Deer or Thorold's Deer (Cervus albirostris)
- Philippine Spotted Deer or Visayan Spotted Deer (Cervus alfredi)
- Barasingha (Cervus duvaucelii)
- Red Deer (Cervus elaphus; called elk or wapiti in America)
- Thamin (Cervus eldii)
- Philippine Sambar or Philippine Brown Deer (Cervus mariannus)
- Sika Deer (Cervus nippon)
- Schomburgk's Deer (Cervus schomburgki) (extinct, 1938)
- Sunda Sambar]] or Rusa deer (Cervus timorensis)
- Sambar Deer (Cervus unicolor)
- Chital (Axis axis)
- Calamian Deer (Axis calamianensis)
- Bawean Deer (Axis kuhlii)
- Hog Deer (Axis porcinus)
- Père David's Deer (Elaphurus davidianus)
- Fallow Deer (Dama dama)
- Persian Fallow Deer (Dama mesopotamica)
- Subfamily Capreolinae
- Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus)
- Moose, called Elk in Europe (Alces alces)
- Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
- White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
- Pampas Deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus)
- Red Brocket (Mazama americana)
- Merioa Brocket (Mazama bricenii)
- Dwarf Brocket (Mazama chunyi)
- Grey Brocket (Mazama gouazoubira)
- Pygmy Brocket (Mazama nana)
- Yucatan Brown Brocket (Mazama pandora)
- Little Red Brocket (Mazama rufina)
- Northern Pudu (Pudu mephistophiles)
- Southern Pudu (Pudu pudu)
- Marsh Deer (Blastocerus dichotomus)
- Peruvian Guemal or North Andean Deer (Hippocamelus antisensis)
- Chilean Huemul or South Andean Deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus)
- Caribou or Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Clutton-Brook, J. 1999. A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521634954
- Bauer, E. 1995. Elk: behavior, ecology, conservation. Stillwater, MN : Voyageur Press ISBN 0896582742
- Forsyth, A. 1999. Mammals of North America. Buffalo, NY : Firefly Books Ltd ISBN 155209409X
- Geist, V. 1999. Moose: behavior, ecology, conservation. Stillwater, MN : Voyageur Press ISBN 0896584224
- Huffman, B. 2006 The Ultimate Ungulate Page Website [1]
- Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG). 2006. Global Invasive Species Database: "Axis axis" [2] "Cervus elaphus"[3]
- Nowak, R. M. and J. L. Paradiso. 1983. Walker's Mammals of the World. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801825253
- University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) 2006. Ungulates: Hoofed Mammals
- Voelker, W. 1986. The Natural History of Living Mammals. Medford, New Jersey: Plexus Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0937548081
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