deer

This red deer with big horns dominates the herd. Dominant stags follow groups of hinds during the rut, from August into early winter. The stags may have as many as 20 hinds to keep from other less attractive males. Only mature stags hold harems (groups of hinds) and breeding success peaks at about 8 years of... more

The antlers of this deer resemble sharp mountaing tops, elevating themselves over the deer´s head. Nearly all male deer have antlers that regrown each year. Antlers grow as highly vascular spongy tissue covered in a skin called velvet. Before the mating season, the antlers calcify under the velvet and become hard. The velvet is then torn away leaving hard bone antlers. After the mating season,... more

Here we find a tiny deer in a green forest full of trees and bushes. Females in their second autumn can produce one and very rarely two offspring per year. The gestation period is 240 and 262 days. After two weeks, calves are able to join the herd and are fully weaned after two months. The offspring will remain with their mothers for almost one full year, leaving around the time that the next... more