Deer fact file

WALT identify and understand main ideas.

Fallow deer Fact File

• Males are called bucks, females are called does and young are called fawns.

• Males are typically 140-160 cm long and 85-95 cm high at the shoulder. They usually weigh 60-100 kgs.

• Does are usually 130-150 cm long and 75-85 cm tall at the shoulder and weigh around 30-50 kgs.

• When fawns are born in spring they are about 30 cm tall and weigh around 4.5 kgs.

• The life span of fallow deer is 12-16 years provided they aren’t hunted or don’t die in other ways.

• The most common coat colour is chestnut, a chestnut coloured coat with white mottles that are much more pronounced in summer and do not show up in winter. The coat is also darker during winter. There is a lighter area around the the tail and the tail is light with a black stripe through the centre.

• Another coat colour is menil. On a deer that is menil the spots show a more and are clearly visible all year round. There are no black markings on the tail and the the coat darkens in winter. This colour is more common in wild New Zealand herds than any other herds in the world.

• Black: Coat colour is black all year, shading to a greyish brown. No white tail markings or spots.

• Leucistic. (White but not albino) Fawns are cream- coloured, adults grow to be pure white, especially in winter.

• Only bucks have antlers, during the first two years they are single spikes and from three years onward they are shovel shaped.

• Fallow deer are grazing animals, their preferred habitat is mixed woodland or open grassland.

• They are agile and fast in case of danger.

• They can run at speed of up to 48 mph.

• Fallow deer can jump 1.75 metres high and 5 metres long.