Fallow deer have a good sense of smell and hearing and very good vision. They communicate through body language, smells, and vocalizations. Fallow deer have six types of vocalizations: barking, which is an explosive alarm call used by females; bleating, which is produced by females during parturition or with their young; mewing, given by any deer during submission postures; peeping, produced by fawns in distress or contacting their mothers; wailing, an intense distress sound by a fawn older than 2 days; and groaning, produced by rutting males. The most common visual communication among Dama dama when disturbed is alerting, where they gain an upright stance with their head held vertically and their body rigid. They may also use different forms of touching, stiff-walking, tail positions, and head positions to communicate. When responding to a source of disturbance the deer may walk, trot, strut, gallop, or pronk.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Dama dama mesopotamica (Persian fallow deer) is considered the rarest and least known mammal of its size. In 1955 the residual population was endangered by degradation of their habitat, and by animal and human enemies. In 1957, efforts to preserve and aid breeding of this species were undertaken in the Opel Animal Preserve in Kronberg, Germany, and Dama dama mesopotamica was placed under complete protection in Iran. In the late 1970's this wild population was found to be well protected and increasing in number. By 1988, however, the last wild population seemed to have disappeared. The species in its natural environment remains endangered. They are being reintroduced in northern Israel. Currently there are more than 80 in the wild (Grizmek 1990; Saltz 1998, Nowak 1999).
CITES: appendix i
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Collision with fallow deer occasionally cause motor-vehicle accidents. (Grizmek 1990).
In Europe fallow deer are the best known and most widespread "park game". Fallow deer are also maintained in captivity for their antler velvet or for commercial production of meat. Since they are easy to breed, they are present in almost all of the larger zoos. In addition, fallow deer are raised on large, fenced, unfertile meadows as domestic animals. (Grizmek 1990; Nowak 1999).
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material; ecotourism
Fallow deer impact the plant communities in which they live through browsing.
Fallow deer forage on a variety of vegetation, usually grasses, mast, and browse. Other items in their diet may include herbs, dwarf shrubs, leaves, buds, shoots, and bark. Their diets are adaptable and depend on season and availability. Their peak feeding periods are usually at dusk and dawn but they may also forage at intervals throughout the day. (Feldhamer et al. 1998; Grizmek 1990).
Plant Foods: leaves; roots and tubers; wood, bark, or stems; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )
Since the last glaciation, fallow deer have had a natural range in southern European regions, Asia Minor, along the Mediterranean Sea, and possibly in northern Africa and Ethiopia. They have been widely introduced to 38 countries in North and South America, the Leeward Islands, Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. (Feldhamer et al. 1998; Nowak 1999).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced ); palearctic (Introduced , Native ); oriental (Introduced ); ethiopian (Introduced , Native ); neotropical (Introduced ); australian (Introduced ); oceanic islands (Introduced )
Fallow deer live in a variety of climates ranging from cool-humid to warm-dry areas. The habitat they prefer usually is a combination of vegetation types. They prefer old, deciduous, broad-leaf forests of varying densities interspersed with grassy areas, but they are also found in mixed forests, broad-leaf forests, subalpine vegetation, grasslands, woodlands, low mountains, scrublands, and savanna. (Feldhamer et al. 1998; Grizmek 1990).
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest ; scrub forest ; mountains
Other Habitat Features: suburban ; agricultural
Fallow deer have an average life span of 20 to 25 years.
Typical lifespan
Status: captivity: 20 to 25 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 25.0 years.
Two subspecies of fallow deer are distinguished: Dama dama dama (European fallow deer) and Dama dama mesopotamica (Persian fallow deer).
The body mass of free-ranging adult males is from 46 to 80 kg with an average of 67 kg, and the mass of adult females is from 30 to 50 kg with an average of 44 kg. The head and body length is 1.3 to 1.75 meters, tail length is 150 to 230 mm, and the shoulder height of males is generally 0.9 to 1.0 meters with the females slightly smaller. The forelegs of Dama dama are usually shorter than the hind legs; as a result, the line of the back is elevated posteriorly. The "Adam's apple" (larynx) is prominent in males.
Palmate, multi-point antlers, usually found only in males, also distinguish Dama dama from all other deer. They range in length from 50 to 70 cm. The antlers are usually shed annually in April and the new ones are regrown and free of velvet by August, until the fifth or sixth year. Females are generally without antlers.
Dama dama have the most variable pelage coloration (white, menil, common, and black) of any species of deer. Typically, the pelage is darker on the dorsal surface of the body and lighter on the ventral surface, chest, and lower legs. Their summer coat is pale brown, smooth, and thin while their winter coat is dark brown and rougher with a heavy undercoat. As a rule, there are visible white spots on the back and flank, less on the neck, and none on the head or legs. In general, the darker the coat, the less striking the spots. A black stripe runs dorsally along the nape of the neck to the tip of the tail. (Feldhamer et al. 1998; Grizmek 1990; Nowak 1999).
Range mass: 30 to 80 kg.
Range length: 1.3 to 1.75 m.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; ornamentation
Fallow deer are preyed on by humans and large predators in the areas in which they occur, such as wolves, cougars, and bears. Their vigilance behaviors and herding helps to protect them from predation.
During the breeding period, or rut, males spend most of their time establishing their territory (rut stand) by pawing the ground to create scrapes where they may urinate, thrashing understory vegetation with their antlers, and by producing low-pitched groans and grunts. At the onset of the rut, since deer are polygynous, the females also appear at the rut stand. Males may stop feeding at this time. Many subordinate males unable to establish territories remain around the edges of the herd, but they are chased away by the rutting male if they enter the territory.
Mating occurs during the rut. Males fight often and violently during the mating season but injuries are rare; their fights involve a ritual shoving with the antlers that follow fixed rules. When mating, the male approaches the female many times, sniffing and licking her genital areas in order to determine if she is in estrous. The female responds with a high-pitched whine and moves away. Eventually the female allows the male to mount.
Mating System: polygynous
Fallow deer have a breeding season of approximately 135 days, generally between the months of September and January in the Northern Hemisphere. The highest percent of fertilization occurs in late October. Males are capable of breeding at the age of 17 months but do not generally breed until the age of four years unless they live in heavily hunted populations. Females generally conceive for the first time around 16 months of age. The length of the estrous cycle for females is approximately 24 to 26 days. Females are polyestrous and may cycle up to seven times in one breeding season, but they usually conceive during their first cycle. Dama dama usually give birth to one fawn after a gestation period of 33 to 35 weeks. The majority of fawns in the Northern Hemisphere are born in early June. Their weight at birth is generally 2 to 4 kg. Full size is attained between 4 to 6 years in females and 5 to 9 years in males.
Breeding interval: Fallow deer breed once yearly.
Breeding season: Mating occurs between September and January.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 231 to 245 days.
Average time to independence: 12 months.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 16 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 17 (low) months.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 48 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Average birth mass: 4500 g.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 487 days.
Females often become secretive and try to find hiding places prior to giving birth. The female usually gives birth during the daily period of least activity. The mother-fawn bond is established immediately after birth when she licks it clean. The mother does not rejoin the herd immediately after birth. The mother hides the fawn in dense bushes and only returns to nurse it (every 4 hours for the first 4 months) during the day. Rumination in the fawn does not begin until 2 to 3 weeks of age. The mother begins weaning the fawn when it is around 20 days old but weaning continues until the fawn is around 7 months old. After 3 to 4 weeks the mother and fawn rejoin a herd of females and their young. After approximately one year, the young are independent.
Parental Investment: precocial ; female parental care
