About a deer

Appearance
Deer are strongly distinguished from antelopes by their huge antlers which are temporary and regularly re-grown. Deer are characterized by long powerful legs, a diminutive tail and long ears. Deer exhibit a broad variation of physical proportions. By this I mean they vary from specie to specie, a good example is the largest existing deer is known as the moose that is nearly 2.6meters and weigh up to 800 kilograms. In most cases male species tend to be larger than females. Their coat color generally also varies between red and brown (reddish brown) and chocolate brown.

Biology
The deer is a ruminant mammal forming the family cervidae which later subdivides into many species, such species are;

• Roe deer
• White tailed deer.
• Moose and red deer.

These are the commonly found in the world. These are however some of the many species of the deer family present in the world.

Life cycle
On average the lifespan of a wild deer is 20 years. After birth a young deer (fawn) will stand in approximately 20 minutes, at this time its mother is licking the fawn clean of the birth fluid to deprive the fawns scent from predators. The fawn will be left hidden in the bushes while its mother returns regularly to suckle it. After this period the fawn will be strong enough to join the herd. When they grow older their mother will break the maternal bond by driving it off prior to giving birth to the next year’s fawn. The males will often fight to obtain breeding rights. The dominant male will then mate with the females in the herd.

Habitat
Deer are “naturally” found in all continents except Antarctica and Australia. They thrive in a variety of habitats such as grasslands, prairies and plains, mountains and forests.

Diet
Deer are very specialized in terms of feeding and will actually prefer feeding the following;

• Young shoots.
• Leaves.
• Young plants.

They generally require high amounts of nutrients in the form of calcium and phosphate. This very much supports their growth.

Behavior
Deer generally leave in the forest or in the wild. They are very cautious about everything that comes their way and will feed on the leaves. They have no special dens.

Conclusion
This is very important about the deer. With this information at hand, then you can be able to familiarize with what you are dealing with.