Fallow deer live primarily in older deciduous or mixed woods with lots of undergrowth. They also survive well in the dunes. For example, they are found in various dune areas in Zeeland and along the west coast of the Netherlands. There are even thousands of fallow deer living in the Amsterdams Drinkwater Dunes. In fact, it has become a plague for people living in the area. The deer like to munch on plants in gardens. In the wild, fallow deer eat grass, leaves and fruits from trees and bushes. Sometimes they also eat the bark. In the Netherlands, fallow deer have always come from the offspring of released animals. They are currently on the Red List of threatened animal species in this country.

Like many species of deer, the fallow deer is active throughout the 24-hour period, but in areas where human disturbance is high, they tend to be more active at night (2). They typically graze on grasses and rushes, but may also browse on young leaves, and also take cereals, berries and acorns (3). For most of the year, males and females occur in separate single-sex groups, and large herds can aggregate in open areas where there is plenty of food (3). The breeding season, or 'rut' occurs between October and November (3); Males hold 'rutting stands' to defend groups of females (6). Rutting behaviour involves displaying, including groaning contests and parallel walks, escalating to physical contests in which the males lock antlers and push each other (2). One calf is usually produced during June or July (3).

Prized as an ornamental species for many years (3), the fallow deer displays a variety of coat colours in the UK, ranging from red, brown and black, and even pure white coats (6). A black line runs along the back to the tail, and there are often white spots on the back during summer (6). The coat becomes darker and thicker in winter (2), and these white spots become more faint (6). Males have impressive antlers that can measure up to 70 centimetres in height (6). Calves are born with a coat similar to the summer coat of the adult (6).

This is a western Palaearctic species. Its original range is unclear, but current knowledge suggests that Turkey and southern Europe (southern Italy, Sicily and the southern Balkan peninsula) were the post-glacial refuges of the species (Heidemann, 1976 and 1986; Chapman and Chapman, 1980; Bökönyi, 1986; Masseti and Rustioni, 1988; Masseti, 1996, 1999 and 2002; Burgio et al., 1998), though the palaeontological and archaeozoological evidence of the species’ diffusion in all these areas is very fragmentary. Records from Iran and the Middle East refer to Dama mesopotamica. Only one undoubtedly natural wild population survives, in the Düzlerçami Game Reserve in the Termessos National Park in southern Turkey, though this is now largely fenced. Other populations in Turkey, at Ayvalik Adalar, Gokova, Adakoy and Stavros-tis-Psokas appear to have died out in recent years (M. Masseti pers. comm.). The population on the island of Rhodes (Greece) is said to have been introduced in Neolithic times (Masseti 2007; Masseti et al. 2005, 2008). Certainly, fossils of fallow deer on Rhodes go back to Neolithic times, and there are no signs of prolonged periods of domestication, and so it could be considered a native population (D. Mertzanidou pers. comm.). The population on Cyprus was introduced in the 20th century (Masseti 1999). The animals on Rhodes are genetically very distinct from all others, as are those in Termessos National Park (Masseti 2007; Masseti et al. 2005, 2008).

The species was introduced to the western Mediterranean by the Phoenicians, and to central and northern Europe by the Romans and Normans. However, most of the currently existing populations in Europe result from much more recent introductions (with the exception of some older ones in, for example, the United Kingdom, and at Castel Porziano in Italy). The distribution in Europe is much more scattered and patchy than indicated on the map (which shows its general extent of occurrence). Furthermore, most European populations are fenced and closely managed, and there are rather few truly free-ranging populations (though some are in the United Kingdom). The population on Rhodes is, however, free-ranging. In most places the fallow deer is managed as a park animal, as almost the whole of its present geographic range is attributable to humans. In Portugal, for example, most of the specimens occur within confined areas, such as parks and private hunting areas, and apart from a few scattered individuals there is no wild population (Cabral et al. 2005). Also in other areas such as Sicily and Calabria (Italy) there are only fenced and managed populations (M. Masseti pers. comm.). Most European animals (with the excepton those in Termessos National Park and on Rhodes) are essentially descended from domestic stock, and there are colour varieties that are considered to be a result of domestication.

More recently, the species has been introduced to many countries worldwide (not included in the distribution map), including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand (considered a pest there), the United States, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay, as well as islands in Fijian group, the Lesser Antilles, and off the Pacific coast of Canada (Apollonio 1999). (Apollonio 1999).

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 )

Global Range: Native to southern Turkey and (subspecies mesopotamica) Iran and formerly Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, eastern Turkey, and possibly Syria; introduced to Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Fijian islands, Lesser Antilles, and western Canadian islands (Grubb, in Wilson and Reeder 2005). Exists in a semi-wild state in many areas of the United States.

In the 11th century, the Normans introduced fallow deer to Britain; they are now patchily distributed throughout much of England and Wales, they also occur in some areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland (3). They are common throughout most of Europe, as they have escaped from deer parks throughout the continent (3).

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

Canada

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

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

Length: 180 cm

Weight: 80000 grams

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Terrestrial

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

Comments: Often found in brushy, hilly areas near grassy meadows; prefers older forest interspersed with areas of grass; tolerates diverse habitats: mixed forest, broadleaf forest, subalpine vegetation, grassland, scrub, savanna (Feldhamer et al. 1988).

This species inhabits mature deciduous and mixed woodland with dense undergrowth (3). It also occurs in marshes, meadows, and mature conifer plantations (3).

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

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 )

Comments: Diet reflects seaoson and availability, includes grasses, forbs, acorns, fruits, fungi, browse (bark, twigs, evergreen leaves and needles).

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Animal / parasite / ectoparasite / blood sucker
Ixodes ricinus sucks the blood of Dama dama

Animal / parasite / ectoparasite
adult of Lipoptena cervi ectoparasitises Dama dama

Fallow deer impact the plant communities in which they live through browsing.

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.

Highly gregarious. Does and fawns form small herds separate from groups of bucks. May compete with mule deer in certain areas.

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 ; acoustic

Comments: Often most active at dusk and dawn, but may forage at various intervals throughout day and night.

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.

Maximum longevity: 21.1 years (captivity) Observations: Males attain full size at 5-9 years of age and females at 4-6 years of age (Ronald Nowak 1999). In the wild, it is estimated that these animals live up to 25 years (Bernhard Grzimek 1990), which is doubtful. Record longevity in captivity is 21.1 years (Richard Weigl 2005).

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); 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

Rut occurs in October; males join female herds in fall, leave herd in winter. Bucks are polygamous. Gestation lasts 8 months. Litter size usually is 1. Weaning is complete at about 7 months Females first breed at 6-7 months or 16 months; males usually at 4 years. See Howery et al. (1989) for information on seasonal reproductive activity in Texas.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


There are 3 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.


Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 6
Specimens with Barcodes: 6
Species With Barcodes: 1

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

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

This widespread and locally common introduced species is increasing in numbers (3). It is protected in the UK by the Deer Act 1991 (4), and certain methods of killing or capture are prohibited under Appendix IV of the Bern Convention (5).

Population

Population Trend

Major Threats

Road deaths are common, and predation of fawns is a major cause of mortality (3). Populations are managed, as this species is a pest of woodland and agriculture (3).

Conservation Actions

There is no conservation action targeted at this introduced species.

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

Comments: Formerly included in the genus Cervus. Placed in the genus Dama by Feldhamer et al. (1988); Grubb, in Wilson and Reeder (1993, 2005); and Jones et al. (1997). Grubb (following Geist 1998) included D. mesopotamica as a subspecies of D. dama.

See Cronin (1991) for a phylogeny of the Cervidae based on mitochondrial DNA data. See Kraus and Miyamoto (1991) for a phylogenetic analysis of pecoran ruminants (Cervidae, Bovidae, Moschidae, Antilocapridae, and Giraffidae) based on mitochondrial DNA data.