DEER

Scientific name: Cervidae

Deer (singular and plural) are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the fallow deer and the chital, and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer (caribou), the roe deer and the moose. Female reindeer, and male deer of all species (except the Chinese water deer), grow and shed new antlers each year. In this they differ from permanently horned antelope, which are in the same order, Artiodactyla.


The musk deer of Asia and water chevrotain (or mouse deer) of tropical African and Asian forests are not usually regarded as true deer and form their own families: Moschidae and Tragulidae, respectively.

Deer appear in art from Paleolithic cave paintings onwards, and they have played a role in mythology, religion, and literature throughout history, as well as in heraldry. Their economic importance includes the use of their meat as venison, their skins as soft, strong buckskin, and their antlers as handles for knives. Deer hunting has been a popular activity since at least the Middle Ages, and remains an important business today.

Pecora

Scientific name: Pecora 
The Pecora are an infraorder of even-toed hoofed mammals with ruminant digestion (Ruminantia, a clade within the Artiodactyla). Most members of Pecora have cranial appendages projecting from their frontal bones; only two extant genera lack them, Hydropotes and Moschus.The name “Pecora” comes from the Latin word pecus, which means “horned livestock”.[Although most pecorans have cranial appendages, only some of these are properly called “horns”, and many scientists agree that these appendages did not arise from a common ancestor, but instead evolved independently on at least two occasions.Likewise, while Pecora as a group is supported by both molecular and morphological studies, morphological support for interrelationships between pecoran families is disputed.


Moose
Scientific name: Alces alces
Height: 1.4 – 2.1 m (Adult, At Shoulder)
Lifespan: 15 – 25 years
Trophic level: Herbivorous Encyclopedia of Life
Mass: Male: 380 – 700 kg (Adult), Female: 200 – 360 kg (Adult)

The Moose (North America) or elk (Eurasia), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the broad, flat (or palmate) antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Hunting and other human activities have caused a reduction in the size of the moose's range over time. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, New England, Fennoscandia, Baltic states, and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are the gray wolf along with bears and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn features energetic fights between males competing for a female.




Elk
Scientific name: Cervus canadensis
Lifespan: 10 – 13 years (In the wild)
Gestation period: 240 – 262 days
Mass: Male: 320 – 330 kg (Mature), Female: 220 – 240 kg
Height: Male: 1.5 m (At Shoulder, Mature), Female: 1.3 m (At Shoulder)

The Elk, or wapiti (Cervus canadensis), is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, in the world, and one of the largest land mammals in North America and Eastern Asia. This animal should not be confused with the still larger moose (Alces alces) to which the name "elk" applies in British English and in reference to populations in Eurasia.

Elk range in forest and forest-edge habitat, feeding on grasses, plants, leaves, and bark. Male elk have large antlers which are shed each year. Males also engage in ritualized mating behaviors during the rut, including posturing, antler wrestling (sparring), and bugling, a loud series of vocalizations that establishes dominance over other males and attracts females.

Although they are native to North America and eastern Asia, they have adapted well to countries in which they have been introduced, including Argentina and New Zealand. Their great adaptability may threaten endemic species and ecosystems into which they have been introduced.

Elk are susceptible to a number of infectious diseases, some of which can be transmitted to livestock. Efforts to eliminate infectious diseases from elk populations, largely by vaccination, have had mixed success.

Some cultures revere the elk as a spiritual force. In parts of Asia, antlers and their velvet are used in traditional medicines. Elk are hunted as a game species. The meat is leaner and higher in protein than beef or chicken.

It was long believed to be a subspecies of the European red deer (Cervus elaphus), but evidence from a number of mitochondrial DNAgenetic studies beginning in 1998 show that the two are distinct species. Key morphological differences that distinguish C. canadensis from C. elaphus are the former's wider rump patch and paler-hued antlers.





Reindeer
Scientific name: Rangifer tarandus
Height: 85 – 150 cm (Adult, At Shoulder)
Speed: 60 – 80 km/h (Running, North America population)
Trophic level: Herbivorous Encyclopedia of Life
Mass: Male: 160 – 180 kg (Adult), Female: 80 – 120 kg (Adult)
The Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), also known as caribou in North America,is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America.This includes both sedentary and migratory populations. Rangifer herd size varies greatly in different geographic regions. The Taimyr herd of migrating tundra reindeer (R.t. sibiricus) in Russia is the largest wild reindeer herd in the world,with numbers varying between 400,000 and 1,000,000. The second largest is the migratory woodland caribou (R.t. caribou) George River herd in Canada, with variations between 28,000 and 385,000.

Rangifer vary in colour and size from the smallest, the Peary caribou, to the largest, the boreal woodland caribou. The North American range of caribou extends from Alaska, through the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, into the boreal forest and south through the Canadian Rockies and the Columbia and Selkirk Mountains. Barren-ground, Porcupine caribou and Peary caribou live in the tundra, while the shy woodland caribou prefers the boreal forest. Two major subspecies in North America, the Porcupine caribou and the barren-ground caribou, form large herds and undertake lengthy seasonal migrations from birthing grounds, to summer and winter feeding grounds in the tundra and taiga. The migrations of Porcupine caribou herds are among the longest of any terrestrial mammal.Barren-ground caribou are also found in Kitaa in Greenland, but the larger herds are in Alaska, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

While overall widespread and numerous,some of its subspecies are rare and at least one has already become extinct, for example, the Queen Charlotte Islands caribou, Canada.Historically the range of the sedentary boreal woodland caribou covered over half of present-day Canada, and into the northern States in the U.S.. Woodland caribou have disappeared from most of their original southern range and were designated as threatened in 2002 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).Environment Canada reported in 2011 that there were approximately 34,000 boreal caribou in 51 ranges remaining in Canada.(Environment Canada, 2011b).Siberian tundra reindeer herd are in decline. For this reason, Rangifer tarandus is considered to be vulnerable by the IUCN.

Human dependence on caribou/wild reindeer began in the Middle Pleistocene period.Arctic peoples, such as the Caribou Inuit, the inland-dwelling Inuit of the Kivalliq Region in northern Canada, the Caribou Clan in the Yukon, Inupiat, Inuvialuit, Hän, Northern Tutchone, and the Gwich'in (who followed the Porcupine Caribou for millennia), have depended on them for food, clothing, and shelter. Hunting of wild reindeer and herding of semi-domesticated reindeer (for meat, hides, antlers, milk and transportation) are important to several Arctic and Subarctic peoples.

The Sami people,(Laplanders), who live in four countries but are one people,have also depended on reindeer herding and fishing for centuries. In Lapland, reindeer pull pulks.

Male and female reindeer can grow antlers annually, although the proportion of females that grow antlers varies greatly between population and season. Antlers are typically larger on males.

In traditional festive legend, Santa Claus's reindeer pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve.




Roe Deer
Scientific name: Capreolus capreolus
Mass: 10 – 35 kg (Adult)
Gestation period: 290 days
Conservation status: Least Concern (Population increasing)
Higher classification: Capreolus

The European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), also known as the western roe deer, chevreuil, or simply roe deer or roe, is a Eurasian species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe deer is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. The species is widespread in Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia and from Britain to the Caucasus and east to northern Iran and Iraq. It is distinct from the somewhat larger Siberian roe deer.

White-tailed deer
Scientific name: Odocoileus virginianus
Gestation period: 201 days
Height: 80 – 100 cm (Adult, At Shoulder)
Trophic level: Herbivorous
Length: 95 – 220 cm
Mass: Male: 68 kg (Adult, In Summer), Female: 45 kg (Adult, In Summer)

The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia.It has also been introduced to New Zealand, Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Lesser Antilles, and some countries in Europe, such as Finland, the Czech Republic, and Serbia.In the Americas, it is the most widely distributed wild ungulate.

In North America, the species is widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains, but elsewhere, it is mostly replaced by the black-tailed or mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). In western North America, it is found in aspen parklands and deciduous river bottomlands within the central and northern Great Plains, and in mixed deciduous riparian corridors, river valley bottomlands, and lower foothills of the northern Rocky Mountain regions from South Dakota and Wyoming to northeastern British Columbia, including the Montana Valley and Foothill grasslands.

The conversion of land adjacent to the northern Rockies into agriculture use and partial clear-cutting of coniferous trees (resulting in widespread deciduous vegetation) has been favorable to the white-tailed deer and has pushed its distribution to as far north as Fort St. John, British Columbia. Populations of deer around the Great Lakes have also expanded their range northwards, due to conversion of land to agricultural uses favoring more deciduous vegetation, and local caribou and moose populations. The westernmost population of the species, known as the Columbian white-tailed deer, once was widespread in the mixed forests along the Willamette and Cowlitz Rivervalleys of western Oregon and southwestern Washington, but today its numbers have been considerably reduced, and it is classified as near-threatened.




Red Deer
Scientific name: Cervus elaphus
Mass: 200 kg (Adult)
Gestation period: 236 days
Length: 2.1 m (Adult)
Trophic level: Herbivorous

The red deer (Cervus elaphus) is one of the largest deer species. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, Iran, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being the only species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red deer have been introduced to other areas, including Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina.In many parts of the world, the meat (venison) from red deer is used as a food source.

Red deer are ruminants, characterized by a four-chambered stomach. Genetic evidence indicates the red deer as traditionally defined is a species group, rather than a single species, although it remains disputed as to exactly how many species the group includes.The closely related and slightly larger American elk or wapiti, native to North America and eastern parts of Asia, had been regarded as a subspecies of red deer, but recently it has been established as a distinct species. It is probable that the ancestor of all red deer, including wapiti, originated in central Asia and resembled sika deer.
Although at one time red deer were rare in parts of Europe, they were never close to extinction. Reintroduction and conservation efforts, such as in the United Kingdom and in Portugal, have resulted in an increase of red deer populations, while other areas, such as North Africa, have continued to show a population decline.




Fallow deer
Scientific name: Dama dama
Mass: 57 kg (Adult) Encyclopedia of Life
Family: Cervidae
Class: Mammalia
Gestation period: 230 days Encyclopedia of Life
The fallow deer (Dama dama) is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. This common species is native to Europe, but has been introduced to Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, South Africa, Fernando Pó, São Tomé, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Réunion, Seychelles, Comoro Islands, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Cyprus, Israel, Cape Verde, Lebanon, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, the Falkland Islands, and Peru.Some taxonomers include the rarer Persian fallow deer as a subspecies (D. d. mesopotamica), while others treat it as an entirely different species (D. mesopotamica).




Muntiacini
Scientific name: Muntiacini
Genus: Muntiacus; Rafinesque, 1815
Higher classification: Cervinae
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Even-toed ungulate

Muntiacini is a tribe of deer, containing two genera
Elaphodus
Muntiacus

Muntiacini was considered to be a subfamily, Muntiacinae, but is now considered a tribe in Cervinae.




Pudú
Scientific name: Pudu
Higher classification: Capreolinae
Rank: Genus
The pudús (Mapudungun püdü or püdu,Spanish: pudú, Spanish pronunciation: [puˈðu]) are two species of South American deer from the genus Pudu, and are the world's smallest deer. The name is a loanword from Mapudungun, the language of the indigenous Mapuchepeople of central Chile and south-western Argentina.The two species of pudús are the northern pudú (Pudu mephistophiles) from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and the southern pudú(Pudu puda; sometimes incorrectly modified to Pudu pudu) from southern Chile and south-western Argentina. Pudús range in size from 32 to 44 centimeters (13 to 17 in) tall, and up to 85 centimeters (33 in) long.As of 2009, the southern pudu is classified as near threatened, while the northern pudu is classified as vulnerable in the IUCN Red List.







Sika deer
Scientific name: Cervus nippon
Higher classification: Cervus
Rank: Species
The sika deer (Cervus nippon) also known as the spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia, and introduced to various other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to the Russian Far East in the north,it is now uncommon in these areas, excluding Japan, where the species is overabundant.








Mule deer
Scientific name: Odocoileus hemionus
Gestation period: 203 days
Class: Mammalia
Family: Cervidae
Trophic level: Herbivorous
Mass: Male: 55 – 150 kg (Adult), Female: 43 – 90 kg (Adult)
The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. The several subspecies include the black-tailed deer.

Unlike the related white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), mule deer are generally more associated with the land west of the Missouri River, and more specifically with the Rocky Mountain region of North America. Mule deer have also been introduced to Argentina and Kauai, Hawaii.







Chital
Scientific name: Axis axis
Higher classification: Axis
Phylum: Chordata
Rank: Species

The chital or cheetal (Axis axis), also known as spotted deer or axis deer, is a species of deer that is native in the Indian subcontinent. The species was first described by German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, male chital reach nearly 90 centimetres (35 in) and females 70 centimetres (28 in) at the shoulder. While males weigh 30–75 kilograms (66–165 lb), the lighter females weigh 25–45 kilograms (55–99 lb). The species is sexually dimorphic: males are larger than females, and antlersare present only on males. The upper parts are golden to rufous, completely covered in white spots. The abdomen, rump, throat, insides of legs, ears and tail are all white. The antlers, three-pronged, are nearly 1 metre (3.3 ft) long.