FALLOW DEER

Fallow deer (Dama dama) (Dama dama), medium-sized deer, family Cervidae (order Artiodactyla), commonly kept on estates and in parks and zoos. The fallow deer was probably native to the Mediterranean region and western Asia but has been introduced in many areas and now occurs wild in Europe and elsewhere. It often inhabits open woods; the females and young live in groups while the males remain apart except in the autumn breeding season. The fallow deer stands about 90 cm (3 feet) at the shoulder. It is typically yellowish brown with white spots in summer and uniformly grayish brown in winter. The male has broad, flattened antlers, usually about 60 cm (about 2 feet) long, with a number of projecting tines. A related species, the Persian fallow deer (D. mesopotamica), is larger and more brightly coloured, and its antlers are not as broadly flattened.