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Fallow deer(Dama dama,or cervus dama)
Phylum —chordata
Class — mammalia
Order — artiodactyla
Family — cervidae
Genus – dama
Appearance
The male Fallow deer is known as a buck, the female is a doe, and the young a fawn. Adult bucks are 140–160 cm (55–63 in) long, 85–95 cm (33–37 in) in shoulder height, and typically 60–100 kg (130–220 lb) in weight; does are 130–150 cm (51–59 in) long, 75–85 cm (30–33 in) in shoulder height, and 30–50 kg (66–110 lb) in weight.
Much variation occurs in the coat colour of the species, with four main variants: common, menil, melanistic, and leucistic – a genuine colour variety, not albinistic. The white is the lightest coloured, almost white; common and menil are darker, and melanistic is very dark, sometimes even black.
Only bucks have antlers, which are broad and shovel-shaped (palmate) from three years. In the first two years, the antler is a single spike.
Habitat
This common species is native to Europe, but has been introduced to Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, South Africa, Fernando Pó, 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.
Behavior
The way of life of aFallow deer resembles that of the red deer, but it is somewhat more unassuming and adheres mainly to pine groves and park-like landscapes. It is less timid and cautious, but not inferior to the red deer in speed and agility.
Diet
The Fallow deer is a ruminant and exclusively herbivorous animal. Their food consists of grass and leaves of trees. Sometimes they tear off the tree bark, but they do not cause the same damage to the forest as Red deer.
Reproduction
From mid-June to the end of July, after a 32-week pregnancy, the females separate from the group and give birth to young, usually one, occasionally two. Milk feeding lasts for about 4 months. The young reach sexual maturity at the age of two to three years.
Lifespan of a Fallow deer is around 12–16 years.
In captivity
In captivity Fallow deer live in small herds, usually in large enclosures with lots of grass and plants to browse on. In addition to grass and plants in their habitat, keepers feed them pelleted food, hay, fresh trimmings of plants, fruits, and vegetables.
