Red Deer

Cervus elaphus

Common & widespread in Exmoor, Quantocks, Norfolk, Lancashire, Suffolk & Scotland.

Few others are kept in Deer parks.

European Red Deer tend to be reddish-brown in their summer coats, and some individuals may have a few spots on the backs of their summer coats.

Only the Stags have antlers, which start growing in the spring and are shed each year, usually at the end of winter.

This Deer is slightly smaller than Red Deer in Western Europe and its coat is lighter in colour, with a distinct border to the lighter patch on the rump.

Male European Red Deer have a distinctive roar during the rut, which is an adaptation to forested environments.

The Male Deer roars to keep his harem of Females together.