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captious-solarian · 7 months

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Deer of up North

There's lots of deer and I can't keep them straight, so here's a list of all deer species found in the subtemperate regions of the Northern hemisphere: Canada, northern Europe, Siberia. This list does not cover the many other deer species.

General deer facts

Deer are ruminants: even-toed ungulates that chew their cud. Yes, that means all true deer are kosher. They're all herbivorous (which means they'll eat meat only if they don't have to work hard for it). True deer are the family Cervidae, but some other species are called "deer" based on looks.

In almost all species, males grow and shed antlers once a year, and females lack antlers. Males also tend to be much larger than females.

Depending on species and region, a male deer is called a stag, buck, or bull; a female deer a doe, hind, or cow; a young deer a fawn or a calf. In French, the male is called the generic term for deer, un cerf; the female is une biche and the young un faon.

Deer are smaller than you expect, except moose, which are bigger. Most deer species have shoulder heights between 50 cm and 1 m. Deer on this list are on the larger side because they live in cold areas.

Most deer are polygynous, with one mating season (rut) per year. Males fight with their antlers over groups of females. Pregnancy is long, and most species have one fawn at a time.

There are 12 species of deer in the area I'm talking about. 11 are true deer, 1 is an impostor amogus.

Red deer (Cervus elaphus)

Stag red deer in a forest near Rochefort, Belgium. Photo by Luc Viatour, 2011.

Name in English: Red deer. Name in French: Usually just cerf since it's the default European deer. Cerf élaphe if you're pedantic. Lives in: Europe and Western Asia. Introduced in Australia, New Zealand, and South America. Shoulder height: 1–1.3 m. Red deer are very big as deer go.

This deer is common in Europe, and often hunted and portrayed in art. It's rather social and forms herds. It lives in woods, and migrates to higher altitudes in summer.

Wapiti (Cervus canadensis)

Bull wapiti in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. Photo by Membeth, 2019.

Name in English: In Europe, wapiti. In North America, elk. Ambiguity warning: in Europe, elk usually means moose (Alces alces). Name in French: Exactly the same problem, with the cognate terms. In Europe, wapiti. In North America, élan. Ambiguity warning: in Europe, élan usually means moose (Alces alces). Lives in: North America and East Asia. Introduced to South America and New Zealand. Shoulder height: 0.8–1.5 m. They're even bigger than red deer on average.

The wapiti is closely related to the red deer, and occupies a similar niche. Their native ranges don't overlap, but they often hybridise where both species are introduced.

Sika deer (Cervus nippon)

Stag sika deer in Poland. Photo by Lilly M, 2007.

Name in English: Northern spotted deer, Japanese deer, sika deer. Name in French: Cerf sika. Lives in: East Asia, mainly Japan. Introduced to a whole bunch of countries, including Canada, the United States, Russia, and many European countries. Shoulder height: 0.5–1.1 m depending on sex and subspecies.

The sika deer remains spotted as an adult, whereas in most species, only fawns have spots. Its distribution is weird af: its native range is a big chunk of East Asia, but it's died out in most of it, except in Japan where it's breeding like crazy, and it has introduced breeding populations in random places. It's closely related to the red deer and they sometimes hybridise.

Fallow deer (Dama dama)

Buck fallow deer in a field in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Photo by Johann-Nikolaus Andreae, 2008.

Name in English: Usually simply fallow deer. European or common fallow deer to clarify. Name in French: Daim. To clarify, daim européen. Lives in: Native to Turkey. Introduced in most of Europe, North and South America, parts of Africa, Oceania. Shoulder height: About 85 cm.

Another deer that stays spotted as an adult, though there are many colour variants. It too has a weird distribution. Its antlers have a broad, flat shape.

Reeves's muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi)

Buck Reeves's muntjac in a garden in England. Photo by Nilfanion, 2010.

Name in English: Reeves's muntjac, Chinese muntjac, barking deer. Sometimes spelt muntjak. Name in French: Lots of different names, none of which are commonly used: muntjac de Reeves, muntjac de Chine, cerf aboyeur, cerf muntjac. Lives in: Native to Taiwan and southeastern China. Introduced in Europe and Japan. Shoulder height: About 50 cm.

There are many species of muntjacs, but only one has established breeding populations far enough north to make this list. All of them are small for deer and breed year-round instead of seasonally.

Bucks of all muntjac species have both tusks and antlers. The tusks are the main weapon; the antlers are short and mostly used to knock opponents out of balance and into tusk range. Fun fact: the ancestor of deer had tusks and no antlers, but true deer lost their tusks, and some lineages re-evolved them.

Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)

Roebuck in Vaxholm, Sweden. Photo by Bengt Nyman, 2023.

Name in English: Roe or roe deer. If you're pedantic, European or western roe deer. Name in French: Chevreuil. If you're pedantic, chevreuil d'Europe. Ambiguity warning: in Canada, chevreuil can mean the whitetail (Odocoileus virginianus). Lives in: Europe and parts of western Asia. Shoulder height: About 65 cm.

Roe deer use forests for cover, but often venture into open areas to graze. Outside mating season, they're solitary and territorial. The doe usually has two fawns rather than one, typically a male and a female.

Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus)

Siberian roebuck at the Daursky Nature Reserve in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia. Photo by Andrey Giljov, 2016.

Name in English: Siberian, eastern, or Asian roe deer. Name in French: Chevreuil de Sibérie or chevreuil d'Asie. Lives in: Take a wild guess: Asia, mainly Siberia. Shoulder height: About 85 cm.

This species is extremely similar to the closely related western roe deer, except that it's taller and thinner, and its antlers are longer. It's named pygargus after its white rump, which the western roe deer also has, so idk man.

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Buck whitetail in the United States. Photo by Scott Bauer, 2001.

Name in English: Whitetail, white-tailed deer, Virginia deer (it's not particularly Virginian but ok). Name in French: If you're being pedantic, cerf de Virginie. In Québec, sometimes chevreuil. Ambiguity warning: in Europe, chevreuil means the roe deer (Capreolus sp.). Lives in: North, Central, and parts of South America. Shoulder height: Varies hugely, 0.5–1.2 m depending on subspecies.

The default North American deer. Bambi from Bambi (1942) is a whitetail.

It mostly lives at the edge of forests, often near humans. When spooked, it raises its tail, showing the white underside. This alerts other deer to danger. Litter size varies, with one, two, or three fawns.

Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)

Buck mule deer in the US state of Oregon. Photo from the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, 2010.

Name in English: Mule deer. Some subspecies are called black-tailed deer. Name in French: Not present in any French-speaking areas, but cerf hémione or cerf mulet. Lives in: Western half of North America. Shoulder height: 0.8–1 m

Named for its huge-ass ears. Litter size is usually two fawns, sometimes one. It's not very social and usually solitary, but can also form small groups. Infuriating fact: there's a subspecies called the Sitka deer after the city of Sitka (Alaska, USA), completely unrelated to the sika deer.

Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)

Wild bull reindeer in Alaska. Note the remains of shedding velvet on the tip of one antler. (Or don't note it, I'm not a cop.) Photo by Dave Menke, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1995.

Name in English: Reindeer or caribou. Reindeer is more common in Europe, caribou in North America. Some people use reindeer for domestic subspecies and caribou for wild ones. Name in French: Renne or caribou, with roughly the same usage patterns. Lives in: Canada, Siberia, extreme north of Europe. Shoulder height: Varies hugely by subspecies, 0.8–1.5 m.

Reindeer live in large herds. Different subspecies migrate very long distances, short distances from mountain in summer to lowlands in winter, or not at all.

They have the biggest antlers of all deer, relative to body size. Females also have antlers, which they use to compete over food during pregnancy. They lose their antlers after calving, later in the year than males.

All societies around the north pole heavily herd or hunt reindeer, and often portray them in art and culture.

Moose (Alces alces)

Bull moose in Alaska. Photo by Paxson Woelber, 2014.

Name in English: In Europe, elk. In North America, moose. Ambiguity warning: in North America, elk usually means wapiti (Cervus canadensis). Name in French: Exactly the same problem. In Europe, élan. In North America, orignal (you are contractually obligated to make an orignal/original pun). Ambiguity warning: in North America, élan usually means wapiti (Cervus canadensis). Lives in: All around the north pole: Canada and small parts of the northern US, northern Europe, Siberia. Shoulder height: 1.5–2 m, by far the biggest deer.

Moose are good swimmers and browse for aquatic plants. Their oddly-shaped nose gives them an excellent sense of smell, and their long legs allow them to walk through snow easily. They're mostly solitary outside mating season. They usually have one calf, but twins are very common when food is plentiful.

Siberian musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) (not a deer)

Male Siberian musk deer at a zoo in Plzeň, Czechia. Photo by Николай Усик (Nicolai Usik), 2011.

Name in English: No really common name, just Siberian musk deer. Name in French: No really common name, just porte-musc de Sibérie. Lives in: Far east Asia: Korea, eastern Siberia, Mongolia, northeastern China. Shoulder height: About 50 cm.

Musk deer are not true deer; they're more closely related to cows. There are seven species, living mostly in South Asia. None have antlers or horns, and males of all species have tusks.

Siberian musk deer are solitary and territorial. They live in sloped taiga, are nocturnal, and mainly eat lichen. Females are larger than males, for once. Litter size varies, with one, two, or three young.

Males have a gland in their schlong that makes musk, a scented substance used in perfumes and traditional medicine. They are poached for their musk and musk glands, making the species vulnerable.

Family tree of all the guys above

Family tree of these 12 deer. Note that the "Old World" and "New World" names for the two subfamilies are kinda fake and gay: wapiti live in the New World; roe deer live in the Old World but are the poster child of the New World family; reindeer and moose live in both.

Other cool deer include the many deer of the Indian subcontinent, like the sambar (Rusa unicolor), and the small deer of South America, like the pudu (Pudu sp). Other cool non-deer include the tiny adorable mouse-deer (chevrotains, Tragulidae).

#taxonomy #effortpost #deer #Cervidae #Ruminantia #Artiodactyla #ungulate #mammal #Mammalia #this is largely a note to self #long post cw #very long post cw

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