The coat is a bright reddish-fawn covered with permanent white spots, those on the lower flanks being arranged in longitudinal rows. There is a dark stripe along the spine. Underparts, underside of tail, lower legs and throat are white. The face is buff with a darker brown muzzle. Antlers are beautifully lyre-shaped, large in proportion to the body, and typically have three points to a side–the main beam plus two tines. Occasionally antlers will have additional tines, which are generally small and located near the junction of brow tine and main beam. Any such additional tines are non-typical. Native to the Indian sub-continent they were liked by nobility all over the world for their spotted reddish coats.
In Europe Axis Deer can be found in deer parks and other private properties mainly in the United Kingdom, France and Czech Republic, where surplus males can be hunted by arrangement. Free ranging and breeding populations of Axis Deer have been released on islands of the Adriatic Sea, mainly in Croatia, in the second half of the 20th century.
European Moose
Ungainly in appearance, with very long legs, a large shoulder hump, and a large head ending in a broad muzzle. The neck is so short and the legs so long that a moose cannot easily reach the ground to feed, nor can it drink without wading into the water. Ears are large and tail is very short. Hair is coarse and brittle. There is a mane on the shoulders and a growth of skin and hair (the “bell”) hanging from its throat. General color is a uniform brown, with little seasonal change. Hindquarters, upper parts of legs, lower flanks, and belly are darker. Lower legs and back of legs tend to be whitish, and the muzzle is pale. Antlers grow out from the sides of the head and are essentially of two different types: flattened or palmate, with points growing from the forward, outer and top edges of the palms; and cervine, with branched points only. The chromosome number is 68, as compared with 70 in the eastern Asian and North American subspecies.
Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic countries, eastern Poland, and Belarus. Numerous and widely distributed in Russia west of the Ural Mountains, roughly between latitudes 63°-57°N. Occasional animals wander into other countries as well. European moose are also found in western Asia from the Ural Mountains to the Yenisei River.
Maral Stag
Called central Asian wapiti in early editions of this book. Called Altai maral in Russia and Mongolia. Differs from the Tian Shan wapiti in being slightly smaller and paler in color, and having some minor skull differences. Winter coat is a light grayish-brown or yellowish-brown, with the head, neck, belly and legs a darker brown. Females are more evenly colored, without the darkening on sides and belly. Males in summer are a more uniform reddish-brown without the dark belly and with the rump patch more vividly reddish. Females in summer are similar to males, though somewhat darker with a fairly distinct dorsal stripe.
Russia: The Altai, Sayan, and Baikal regions of Siberia. Mongolia: Northwestern and north-central parts. Boundaries with the Manchurian wapiti to the east are unclear.
European Red Stag
The largest of all red deer, with the finest specimens as regards weight and quality of antlers coming from Poland, Hungary, Romania and the former Yugoslavia. Stags weighing 600-660 pounds (272-300 kg) have been taken, as have antlers with 20 or more points and weighing more than 22 pounds (10 kg) including the frontal bone, or 26 pounds (12 kg) on the cleaned skull. The antlers are usually darker than those from other red deer.
Mainland Europe (except for Scandinavia and the Iberian Peninsula) as far east as the Crimean Peninsula and southern Russia. Also in England and Ireland, and in Scotland south of a line between Glasgow and Edinburgh. (The latter are classified as Scottish red deer by biologists, but are treated here as European red deer-the larger form-because of the possibility of hybridization.) European red deer have also been introduced in several hunting reserves in areas of European Russia where they are not native.
Fallow Deer
Medium-sized, with more color variations than any other deer. The four principal ones are: (1) typical-summer coat of rich brown with white spots and lighter underparts, changing to dark gray-brown in winter with spots barely visible; (2) menil-pale fawn with white spots; (3) white (but not albino); and (4) black-not actually black, but very dark brown. There are many intermediate color variations. Antlers have brow and trez tines (bez tines are usually absent), and are well-palmated at the top, with a number of tines coming off the rear edge of the palmation.
Most of Europe. It is known from fossils that fallow deer, or something very similar, lived in many parts of Europe during the Pleistocene Epoch, but most (if not all) of them died out during the last glaciation when ice covered most of Europe. Modern fallow deer are thought to have originated in the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, the island of Rhodes, and Anatolia (Asian Turkey). Introduced and reintroduced in most parts of Europe by the Romans, or perhaps by the earlier Phoenicians. For record-keeping purposes, all fallow deer from Europe are considered indigenous. Also native to Asian parts of Turkey.
Iberian Red Stag
A smaller race, with stags weighing 180-220 pounds (82-100 kg). Compared to the European red deer, the coat is not as thick and is somewhat lighter in color. Antlers are not as long or heavy, but are still very fine, sometimes with as many as 18-20 points (or even more) and a high incidence of crowning.
Spain. There is also a small population in southeastern Portugal.
Roe Deer
The smallest and most elegant native deer in Europe. Coloration is rich reddish-brown in summer, with a gray face, white chin and black muzzle band. Rump patch is obscure. Winter coat is grayish-brown, with two white throat patches and a prominent white rump patch of erectile hairs that can expand under stress to form a large white disk. Tail is small and white, invisible against the rump. A few melanistic (blackish) roe deer occur in the Netherlands and northwestern Germany, but are rare elsewhere, as are other color variations such as black-faced, albino, black and white, and brown and white. Normal antlers of a mature buck consist of a main beam directed upward, with a lower forward tine and a higher rearward tine making three points to a side. (However, non-typical antlers with 4-5 points on a side are not uncommon.) Antlers have a very rough burr (coronet) around the base, and grow so closely together that the coronets usually touch in mature animals. The skull is broad, with a compressed muzzle. The female does not grow antlers, but occasionally will grow coronets without any antler growth. In winter, females grow a prominent anal tuft of long hair that may be mistaken for a tail.
Generally throughout Europe, except absent from Ireland, central England, the far north, most of Portugal, and the Mediterranean islands. Found as far east as the Don River in Russia, and perhaps even as far as the Volga River. European roe deer are also found in southwestern Asia, where they occur on the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains, in Anatolia (Asian Turkey), the northern tip of Iraq, and northern Iran.
Siberian Roe Deer
The Siberian roe deer category consists of three races: pygargus, caucasicus and tianschanicus, but only the first two are found in Europe. The typical Siberian roe deer (pygargus) is considerably larger than the European roe deer. Shoulder height of males is 33-39 inches (85-100 cm), weight up to 130 pounds (59 kg). Females are a little smaller. The antlers are considerably larger and the summer coat is a brighter and lighter red than in the European roe. The winter coat is grayish-brown with a white rump patch, and is much thicker and rougher than in the European roe. The heavily pearled antlers grow upward in the shape of a “V” and are widely separated at the base, with the coronets never touching as they do in the European species. Typically there are three points to a side (the beam tip plus two tines), but the rear tine is frequently bifurcated so as to make four points. Any tines other than the normal brow and rear tines are non-typical. The North Caucasian roe deer (caucasicus) is a smaller form, described by Heptner as intermediate in size between the European and Siberian forms, with Siberian-type antlers not longer than 13 inches (33 cm). Males average 66 pounds (30 kg), maximum 88 pounds (40 kg), with the heavier individuals rare.
The European range of the Siberian roe deer is limited to European parts of Russia. The larger form (pygargus) is found on the western slopes of the Ural Mountains, roughly between latitudes 50°-60°N and east of about longitude 52°E. Within historical times it is said to have reached the Volga River, even occurring along its west bank, especially where it nears the lower Don River; however, it is no longer found so far south and west. The smaller North Caucasian form (caucasicus) is geographically isolated on the lower northern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains. Heptner gave its range as from Novorossiisk and Sochi eastward to the Caspian, and from the mouth of the Terek River to Derbent; however, its present range is much reduced. Transplants of what are probably caucasicus have been made outside their natural range on hunting reserves in various parts of European Russia, notably at Krasny Les, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Krasnodar. The principal range of the Siberian roe deer, however, lies in Asia, from the eastern foot of the Urals to the Tatar Strait.
Sika Deer
One of the smaller races of sika deer. Antlers as long as 28-3/8 inches (72.1 cm) have been recorded from Japan (Rowland Ward, 1913), though it is not known where in Japan. Antlers of 16-22 inches (40.6-55.9 cm) are more usual. The summer coat is reddish-brown with many white spots, changing to dark brown (which can appear black at a distance) without spots in winter. The sharply defined white rump patch is broken by a dark, narrow tail stripe.
Free ranging in parts of Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Denmark, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Macedonia.