Elk, moose

Red deer

The red deer species has several dozen subspecies. On our continent, its main subspecies are the European red deer, spotted deer, wapiti, red deer, Bukhara deer. These subspecies differ from each other in size, color of the coat, shape of the horns, etc. The largest is the deer. Its weight can reach 300 kg, and the height at the withers is up to 1.5 m and the body length is up to 2.5 m. A characteristic feature of the European red deer is the presence of a crown with a large number of processes at the top of the horns. The wapiti (maral) does not have such a crown, although in general its horns are more massive.

The habitat of the European deer is mainly the European part of our continent. Maral, red deer, Bukhara deer are common in the Asian part of the continent, Siberia, the Far East, etc. Many hunting farms breed and maintain the number of red deer.

The main food of red deer is various herbs, cereals, branches of deciduous trees. In winter, they feed on branches of shrubs, needles, bark, get acorns from under the snow, etc.

Every year male deer (bulls) change their antlers. As a rule, in the middle of winter - the end of winter, the horns are shed and by the beginning of summer new horns grow, which by the end of August finally stiffen and become strong.

In September - October, the mating season begins. There is a rut and a roar of deer, which is heard for several kilometers. The sounds of the roar depend on the type of deer, age. The sound ranges from low raspy to trumpet sounds. At this time, harems of females are formed around males (bulls). Fights take place between the bulls, in which they sometimes seriously injure each other.

Pregnancy in females lasts approximately 8.5 months. Fawns are born mainly between May and July. A month later, they can eat grass, but they still suck the milk of the female.