Deer
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225566082
2008-07-14T10:00:23Z
79.121.109.232
[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 225550725 by [[Special:Contributions/124.179.92.116|124.179.92.116]] ([[User talk:124.179.92.116|talk]]) because it constitutes vandalism.
{{otheruses1|the ruminant animal}}
{{redirect4|Fawn|Stag}}
{{Taxobox
| name = Deer
| fossil_range = Early [[Oligocene]] - Recent
| image = MuleDeer ModocCounty.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Male and female Mule deer
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Artiodactyla]]
| subordo = [[Ruminantia]]
| familia = '''Cervidae'''
| familia_authority = [[Georg August Goldfuss|Goldfuss]], 1820
| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
| subdivision =
[[Capreolinae]]/Odocoileinae<br>
[[Cervinae]]<br>
[[Hydropotinae]]<br>
[[Muntiacinae]]<br>
}}
A '''deer''' is a [[ruminant]] [[mammal]] belonging to the [[family (biology)|family]] '''Cervidae'''. A number of broadly similar animals from related families within the [[order (biology)|order]] [[Artiodactyla]] (even-toed [[ungulates]]) are often also called ''deer''. Male deer grow and shed new antlers each year, as opposed to [[antelope]], which are in the same order and bear a superficial resemblance to deer physically, but are permanently horned.
==Etymology==
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Depending on their species, male deer are called ''stags, harts, bucks'' or ''bulls,'' and females are called ''hinds, does'' or ''cows.'' Young deer are called ''fawns'' or ''calves''. A group of deer is commonly called a ''herd''. ''Hart'', from [[Old English language|Old English]] ''heorot'' ‘deer’, is a term for a stag, particularly a [[Red Deer]] stag past its fifth year. It is not commonly used, but [[Shakespeare]] makes several references, punning the sound alike "hart" and "heart" for example in [[Twelfth Night]]. "The White Hart" and "The Red Hart" are common English [[pub]] names, and the county [[Hertfordshire]] is named after them. [[Whinfell Forest]] once contained a landmark tree called Harthorn<ref>[http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/WES/zzBooks/cox1.htm Magna Britannica et Hibernia]</ref>
The [[etymology|history of the word]] deer was originally quite broad in meaning and came to be [[specialization|specialized]]. In [[Middle English]], ''der'' ([[Old English language|O.E.]] ''dēor'') meant a beast or [[animal]] of any kind. <ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/61/75/D0087500.html www.bartleby.com]</ref> This general sense gave way to the modern sense by the end of the Middle English period, around 1500. The [[German language|German]] word ''Tier'', the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] word ''dier'' and the [[North Germanic languages|Scandinavian]] words ''djur/dyr/dýr'', cognates of English deer, still have the general sense of "animal". The [[Adjective#Adjectives of relation|adjective of relation]] pertaining to deer is [[Wiktionary:cervine|''cervine'']].
==Habitat==
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Deer are widely distributed, and [[hunting|hunted]], with indigenous representatives in all continents except [[Antarctica]] and [[Australia]], though [[Africa]] has only one native species confined to the [[Atlas Mountains]] in the northwest of the continent, the [[Red Deer]]. (The [[Water Chevrotain|Mouse Deer or Water Chevrotain]] of African forests is not a true deer; all other animals in Africa resembling deer are antelope).
Deer live in a variety of biomes ranging from [[tundra]] to the [[tropical rainforest]]. While often associated with forests, many deer are [[ecotone]] species that live in transitional areas between forests and thickets (for cover) and prairie and savanna (open space). The majority of large deer species inhabit temperate mixed deciduous forest, mountain mixed coniferous forest, tropical seasonal/dry forest, and savanna habitats around the world. Clearing open areas within forests to some extent may actually benefit deer populations by exposing the understory and allowing the types of grasses, weeds, and herbs to grow that deer like to eat. However, adequate forest or brush cover must still be provided for populations to grow and thrive.
Small species such as the [[brocket deer]] and [[pudu]]s of Central and South America, and the [[muntjac]]s of Asia occupy dense forests and are less often seen in open spaces. There are also several species of deer that are highly specialized, and live almost exclusively in mountains, grasslands, swamps and "wet" savannas, or riparian corridors surrounded by deserts. Some deer have a circumpolar distribution in both North America and Eurasia. Examples include the [[Reindeer|reindeer (caribou)]] that live in Arctic tundra and taiga (boreal forests) and [[moose]] that inhabit [[taiga]] and adjacent areas.
[[Image:Reindeer_in_Kebnekaise.jpg|thumb|right|[[Reindeer]] in Sweden]]
The highest concentration of large deer species in temperate [[North America]] lies in the Canadian Rocky Mountain and Columbia Mountain Regions between Alberta and British Columbia where all five North American deer species ([[White-tailed Deer]], [[Mule deer]], [[Caribou]], [[Elk]], and [[Moose]]) can be found. This is a region that boasts mountain slopes with diverse types of coniferous and mixed forested areas along with lush alpine meadows. The foothills and river valleys between the mountain ranges provide a mosaic of cropland and deciduous parklands. The aspen parklands north of Calgary also have many lakes and marshes. Elk and Mule Deer are probably the most common animals throughout the region.
The caribou live at higher altitudes in the subalpine meadows and alpine tundra areas. The White-tailed Deer have recently expanded their range within the foothills and river valleys of the Canadian Rockies owing to conversion of land to cropland and the clearing of coniferous forests allowing more deciduous vegetation to grow. They often share this riparian habitat with moose, but left the adjacent [[Great Plains]] and drier grassland habitats to [[Elk]], [[American bison]], and [[pronghorn]] antelope.
[[Image:White-tail_deer.jpg|thumb|right|White-tail deer in Toronto, Canada]]
The highest concentration of large deer species in temperate Asia occurs in the mixed deciduous forests, mountain coniferous forests, and taiga bordering North Korea, Manchuria (Northeastern China), and the Ussuri Region (Russia). These are among some of the richest deciduous and coniferous forests in the world where one can find [[Siberian Roe Deer]], [[Sika Deer]], [[Caribou]], [[Elk]], and [[Moose]]. Just south of this region in China, one can find the unusual [[Père David's Deer]].
Deer such as the [[Sika Deer]], [[Thorold's Deer]], [[Central Asian Red Deer]], and [[Elk]] have historically been farmed for their antlers by [[Han Chinese]], [[Turkic peoples]], [[Tungusic peoples]], [[Mongolians]], and [[Koreans]]. Like the [[Sami people]] of [[Finland]] and [[Scandinavia]], the [[Tungusic peoples]], [[Mongolians]], and [[Turkic peoples]] of Southern Siberia, Northern Mongolia, and the Ussuri Region have also taken to raising semi-domesticated herds of [[caribou]].
The highest concentration of large deer species in the tropics occurs in Southern Asia and Southeast Asia in India, Nepal, and at one time, Thailand. Northern India's Indo-Gangetic Plain Region and Nepal's Terai Region consist of tropical seasonal moist deciduous, dry deciduous forests, and both dry and wet savannas that are home to [[Chital]], [[Hog Deer]], [[Barasingha]], Indian [[Sambar Deer|Sambar]], and [[Indian Muntjac]]. Just slightly north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain is the Vale of Kashmir, home to the rare Kashmir Stag, a subspecies of [[Central Asian Red Deer]].
[[Image:Muntiacus.muntjak.jpg|thumb|right|125px|[[Reeves's Muntjac]] deer]]
The Chao Praya River Valley of Thailand was once primarily tropical seasonal moist deciduous forest and wet savanna that hosted populations of [[Hog Deer]], [[Schomburgk's Deer]] (now extinct), [[Eld's Deer]], Indian [[Sambar Deer|Sambar]], and [[Indian Muntjac]]. Today, both the [[Barasingha]] and [[Eld's Deer]] are endangered or rare. The hog deer populations in Thailand are also rare. Chital and Barasingha live in large herds, and Indian sambar may also be found in large groups.
Of all these deer species, hog deer are solitary and have the lowest deer densities. All these deer can coexist in one area because they prefer different types of vegetation for food. These deer also share their habitat with various herbivores such as Asian elephants, various antelope species (such as [[nilgai]], [[four-horned antelope]], [[blackbuck]], and Indian [[gazelle]] in India), and wild oxen (such as [[gaur]], [[banteng]], and [[kouprey]]). Incidentally, the European deciduous forests and North American deciduous forests (west of the Appalachian Mountains) were historically shared by both deer species and wild oxen.
[[Image:Dan%C4%9Bk_3.jpg|thumb|right|Fallow deer in the Czech Republic]]
The mixed deciduous forests and prairies of Europe were once home to European Red Deer, European Roe Deer, and Moose. The mixed deciduous forests and prairies of North America's midwest were once home to [[white-tailed deer]] and large herds of [[Elk]]. Today most of these forest and prairie lands have become converted to cropland. Much of the forest and prairie land west of North America's Appalachian Mountains is part of United States' Midwest Agricultural Region and primarily supports white-tailed deer. The [[Elk]] herds have recently (in the past century) become extinct in these areas with elk and bison reintroduced to some areas. The forests of Europe are also mostly cropland and European Red Deer and European Roe Deer survive only in protected areas.
Australia has six [[introduced species]] of deer that have established sustainable wild populations from Acclimatisation Society releases in the 19th Century. These are [[Fallow Deer]], [[Red Deer]], [[Sambar Deer]], [[Hog Deer]], [[Rusa deer]], and [[Chital Deer]]. Red Deer introduced into [[New Zealand]] in 1851 from English and Scottish stock were domesticated in [[deer farm]]s by the late 1960s and are common farm animals there now. Seven other species of deer were introduced into New Zealand but none are as widespread as Red Deer.<ref name="DeerInNewZealand">[http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/MammalsIntroduced/Deer/en Deer] An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966</ref>
==Biology==
Deer generally have lithe, compact bodies and long, powerful legs suited for rugged woodland terrain. Deer are also excellent swimmers. Deer are [[ruminant]]s, or cud-chewers, and have a four-chambered stomach. The teeth of deer are adapted to feeding on vegetation, and like other ruminants, they lack upper [[incisor]]s, instead having a tough pad at the front of their upper jaw. The Chinese water deer and Tufted deer have enlarged upper [[canine (tooth)|canine]] teeth forming sharp tusks, while other species often lack upper canines altogether. The cheek teeth of deer have crescent ridges of enamel, which enable them to grind a wide variety of vegetation.<ref name=EoM>{{cite book |editor=Macdonald, D.|author= Cockerill, Rosemary|year=1984 |title= The Encyclopedia of Mammals|publisher= Facts on File|location=New York|pages= 520-529|isbn= 0-87196-871-1}}</ref> The [[dentition|dental formula]] for deer is:{{dentition2|0.0-1.3.3|3.1.3.3}}
Nearly all deer have a facial gland in front of each eye. The gland contains a strongly scented [[pheromone]], used to mark its home range. Bucks of a wide range of species open these glands wide when angry or excited. All deer have a [[liver]] without a [[gallbladder]]. Deer also have a [[Tapetum lucidum]] which gives them sufficiently good [[night vision]].
[[Image:Wapiti (01) 2006-09-19.JPG|left|thumb|Female [[Elk|Wapiti]] nursing young]]
A doe generally has one or two fawns at a time (triplets, while not unknown, are uncommon). The gestation period is anywhere up to ten months for the European [[roe deer]]. Most fawns are born with their fur covered with white spots, though they lose their spots once they get older (excluding the Fallow Deer who keeps its spots for life). In the first twenty minutes of a fawn's life, the fawn begins to take its first steps. Its mother licks it clean until it is almost free of scent, so predators will not find it. Its mother leaves often, and the fawn does not like to be left behind. Sometimes its mother must gently push it down with her foot. The fawn stays hidden in the grass for one week until it is strong enough to walk with its mother. The fawn and its mother stay together for about one year. A male usually never sees his mother again, but females sometimes come back with their own fawns and form small herds.
[[Image:Fawn in Forest edit.jpg|right|thumb|Fawn]]
Deer are selective feeders. They are usually [[herbivory|browsers]], and primarily feed on [[leaf|leaves]]. They have small, unspecialized [[stomach]]s by [[ruminant]] standards, and high nutrition requirements. Rather than attempt to digest vast quantities of low-grade, fibrous food as, for example, [[sheep]] and [[cattle]] do, deer select easily digestible shoots, young leaves, fresh [[grasses]], soft [[twig]]s, [[fruit]], [[fungi]], and [[lichen]]s.
===Antlers===
[[Image:White-tailed deer.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[[White-tailed deer]]]]
With the exception of the [[Chinese water deer]], all male deer have [[antlers]] that are shed and regrown each year from a structure called a pedicle. Sometimes a [[female]] will have a small stub. The only female deer with antlers are [[Reindeer]] (Caribou). Antlers grow as highly vascular spongy tissue covered in a skin called velvet. Before the beginning of a species' mating season, the antlers calcify under the velvet and become hard. The velvet is then torn away leaving hard bone antlers. After the mating season, the pedicle and the antler base are separated by a layer of tissue, and the antler falls off.
The one way that many hunters are able to track main paths that the deer travel on is because of their "rubs". A rub is used to deposit scent from glands near the eye and forehead and physically mark territory.
During the mating season, bucks use their antlers to fight one another for the opportunity to attract mates in a given herd. The two bucks circle each other, bend back their legs, lower their heads, and charge.
Each species has its own characteristic antler structure, e.g. each white-tailed deer antler includes a series of tines sprouting upward from a forward-curving main beam. Mule deer (and [[Black-tailed deer]]), species within the same genus as the white-tailed deer, instead have bifurcated (or branched) antlers -- that is, the main beam splits into two, each of which may split into two more.[http://www.dfw.state.or.us/OFWbiggamerevised12-20-06%20(2).pdf]
For [[Elk|Wapiti]] and [[Red Deer]], a stag having 14 points is an "imperial", and a stag having 12 points is a "royal". If the antlers deviate from the species' normal antler structure, the deer is considered a non-typical deer.
===Evolution===
The earliest fossil deer date from the [[Oligocene]] of Europe, and resembled the modern [[muntjac]]s. Later species were often larger, with more impressive antlers, and, in many cases, lost of the upper canine teeth. They rapidly spread to the other continents, even for a time occupying much of northern Africa, where they are now almost wholly absent. Some extinct deer had huge antlers, larger than those of any living species. Examples include ''[[Eucladoceros]]'', and the giant deer ''[[Megaloceros]]'', whose antlers stretched to 3.5 metres across.
==Economic significance==
[[Image:Lucas Cranach the Elder Stag Hunt.jpg|thumb|left|300px|"The Stag Hunt of [[Frederick III, Elector of Saxony]]" by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]]]
Deer have long had economic significance to humans. Deer meat, for which they are [[hunting|hunted]] and [[farm]]ed, is called [[venison]]. Deer organ meat is called ''umble''. See [[humble pie]].
[[Musk]], which comes from the gland on the [[abdomen]] of [[musk deer]], is used in medicines and perfumes. Deerskin is used for shoes, boots, and gloves, and antlers are made into buttons and knife handles.
The [[Sami people|Saami]] of [[Scandinavia]] and the [[Kola Peninsula]] of [[Russia]] and other nomadic peoples of northern [[Asia]] used [[reindeer]] for food, clothing, and transport.
The [[caribou]] is not domesticated or herded as is the case in [[Europe]] but is important to the [[Inuit]]. Most commercial venison in the [[United States]] is imported from [[New Zealand]].
[[Image:Mavrogheni trasura cerbi.jpg|thumb|right| 320px|[[Nicholas Mavrogenes]], [[Phanariote]] [[List of rulers of Wallachia|Prince]] of [[Wallachia]], riding through [[Bucharest]] in a deer−drawn carriage (late 1780s)]]
Deer were originally brought to [[New Zealand]] by European settlers, and the deer population rose rapidly. This caused great environmental damage and was controlled by hunting and poisoning until the concept of deer farming developed in the 1960s. Deer farms in New Zealand number more than 3,500, with more than 400,000 deer in all.
Automobile collisions with deer impose a significant cost on the economy. In the U.S., about 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions occur each year, according to the [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]]. Those accidents cause about 150 deaths and $1.1 billion in property damage annually.[http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/11/14/deer_crash/index.html]
==Taxonomy==
Note that the terms indicate the origin of the groups, not their modern distribution: the [[water deer]], for example, is a New World species but is found only in [[China]] and [[Korea]].
It is thought that the new world group evolved about 5 million years ago in the forests of [[North America]] and [[Siberia]], the old world deer in [[Asia]].
===Subfamilies, genera and species===
The family Cervidae is organized as follows:
*Subfamily '''Muntiacinae''' ([[Muntjac]]s)
**Genus ''Muntiacus'':
***[[Indian muntjac]] or Common Muntjac (''Muntiacus muntjak'')
***[[Reeves's muntjac]] or Chinese Muntjac (''Muntiacus reevesi'')
***[[Hairy-fronted muntjac]] or Black Muntjac (''Muntiacus crinifrons'')
***[[Fea's muntjac]] (''Muntiacus feae'')
***[[Bornean Yellow muntjac]] (''Muntiacus atherodes'')
***[[Roosevelt's muntjac]] (''Muntiacus rooseveltorum'')
***[[Gongshan muntjac]] (''Muntiacus gongshanensis'')
***[[Giant muntjac]] (''Muntiacus vuquangensis'')
***[[Truong Son muntjac]] (''Muntiacus truongsonensis'')
***[[Leaf muntjac]] (''Muntiacus putaoensis'')
**Genus ''Elaphodus'':
***[[Tufted deer]] (''Elaphodus cephalophus'')
*Subfamily '''Cervinae''' (True Deer, Old World Deer):
**Genus ''Cervus'':
***Subgenus ''Cervus'':
****European [[Red Deer|red deer]] (''Cervus elaphus'')
****[[Central Asian Red Deer]] (''Cervus wallichi'')
****[[Elk]] (''Cervus canadensis'') (North American and Asian Elk; second largest deer in world; not to be confused with Moose, known as Elk in Europe)
***Subgenus ''Przewalskium'':
****[[Thorold's deer]], or [[white-lipped deer]] (''Cervus albirostris'')
***Subgenus ''Sika'':
****[[Sika Deer]] (''Cervus nippon'')
***Subgenus ''Rucervus'':
****[[Barasingha]] (''Cervus duvaucelii'')
****[[Schomburgk's Deer]] (''Cervus schomburgki'') ([[Extinction|extinct]], 1938)
****[[Eld's Deer]] or [[Thamin]] (''Cervus eldii'')
***Subgenus ''Rusa'':
****Indian [[Sambar Deer|Sambar]] (''Cervus unicolor'')
****[[Sunda Sambar]] or [[Rusa Deer]] (''Cervus timorensis'')
****[[Philippine Sambar]] (''Cervus mariannus'')
****[[Philippine Spotted Deer]] or [[Visayan Spotted Deer]] (''Cervus alfredi'') (smallest Old World deer)
**Genus ''Axis'':
***Subgenus ''Axis'':
****[[Chital]] or [[Axis deer]] (''Axis axis'')
***Subgenus ''Hyelaphus'':
****[[Hog deer]] (''Axis porcinus'')
****[[Calamian deer]] (''Axis calamianensis'')
****[[Bawean deer]] (''Axis kuhlii'')
**Genus ''Elaphurus'':
***[[Père David's Deer]] (''Elaphurus davidianus'')
**Genus ''Dama'':
***[[Fallow deer]] (''Dama dama'')
***[[Persian fallow deer]] (''Dama mesopotamica'')
***[[Giant Deer]] (''Megaloceros giganteus'') †<ref name=giant_deer>[http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7069/abs/nature04134.html The phylogenetic position of the 'giant deer' Megaloceros giganteus.] Letter in ''Nature'' 438, 850-853 (8 December 2005)</ref>
[[Image:Pudu pudu AB.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Pudú]], the smallest species of deer]]
*Subfamily '''Hydropotinae''' (Water Deer)
**Genus ''Hydropotes'':
***[[Chinese water deer]] (''Hydropotes inermis'')
*Subfamily '''Odocoileinae/Capreolinae''' (New World Deer)
**Genus ''Odocoileus'':
***[[White-tailed deer]] (''Odocoileus virginianus'')
***[[Mule deer]], or Black-tailed deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'')
**Genus ''Blastocerus'':
***[[Marsh deer]] (''Blastocerus dichotomus'')
**Genus ''Ozotoceros'':
***[[Pampas deer]] (''Ozotoceros bezoarticus'')
**Genus ''Mazama'':
***[[Red Brocket]] (''Mazama americana'')
***[[Merioa Brocket]] (''Mazama bricenii'')
***[[Dwarf Brocket]] (''Mazama chunyi'')
***[[Grey Brocket]] (''Mazama gouazoubira'')
***[[Pygmy Brocket]] (''Mazama nana'')
***[[Yucatan Brown Brocket]] (''Mazama pandora'')
***[[Little Red Brocket]] (''Mazama rufina'')
**Genus ''Pudu'':
***[[Northern Pudú]] (''Pudu mephistophiles'') (smallest deer in the world)
***Southern [[Pudú]] (''Pudu pudu'')
**Genus ''Hippocamelus'':
***[[Taruca]] or [[North Andean Deer]] (''Hippocamelus antisensis'')
***[[Chilean Huemul]] or [[South Andean Deer]] (''Hippocamelus bisulcus'')
**Genus ''Capreolus'':
***European [[Roe Deer]] (''Capreolus capreolus'')
***[[Siberian Roe Deer]] (''Capreolus pygargus'')
**Genus ''Rangifer'':
***[[Reindeer|Caribou/Reindeer]] (''Rangifer tarandus'')
**Genus ''Alces'':
***[[Moose]] (''Alces alces''; called "Elk" in England and Scandinavia) (largest deer in the world)
[[Image:Bigbullmoose.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Moose]], the largest species of deer]]
===Hybrid deer===
In ''[[Origin of Species]]'' (1859) [[Charles Darwin]] wrote "Although I do not know of any thoroughly well-authenticated cases of perfectly fertile hybrid animals, I have some reason to believe that the hybrids from Cervulus vaginalis and Reevesii [...] are perfectly fertile." These two varieties of muntjac are currently considered the same species.
A number of deer hybrids are bred to improve meat yield in farmed deer. American Elk (or Wapiti) and Red Deer from the Old World can produce fertile offspring in captivity, and were once considered one species. Hybrid offspring, however, must be able to escape and defend themselves against predators, and these hybrid offspring are unable to do so in the wild state. Recent DNA, animal behavior studies, and morphology and antler characteristics have shown there are not one but three species of Red Deer: European [[Red Deer]], [[Central Asian Red Deer]], and American Elk or Wapiti. (The European Elk is a different species and is known as [[moose]] in North America.) The hybrids are about 30% more efficient in producing antler by comparing velvet to body weight. Wapiti have been introduced into some European Red Deer herds to improve the Red Deer type, but not always with the intended improvement.
In New Zealand, where deer are introduced species, there are hybrid zones between Red Deer and North American Wapiti populations and also between Red Deer and Sika Deer populations. In New Zealand Red Deer have been artificially hybridized with Pere David Deer in order to create a farmed deer which gives birth in spring. The initial hybrids were created by artificial insemination and back-crossed to Red Deer. However, such hybrid offspring can only survive in captivity free of predators.
In Canada, the farming of European Red Deer and Red Deer hybrids is considered a threat to native Wapiti. In Britain, the introduced Sika Deer is considered a threat to native Red Deer. Initial Sika Deer/Red Deer hybrids occur when young Sika stags expand their range into established red deer areas and have no Sika hinds to mate with. They mate instead with young Red hinds and produce fertile hybrids. These hybrids mate with either Sika or Red Deer (depending which species is prevalent in the area), resulting in mongrelization. Many of the Sika Deer which escaped from British parks were probably already hybrids for this reason. These hybrids do not properly inherit survival strategies and can only survive in either a captive state or when there are no predators.
In captivity, Mule Deer have been mated to White-tail Deer. Both male Mule Deer/female White-tailed Deer and male White-tailed Deer/female Mule Deer matings have produced hybrids. Less than 50% of the hybrid fawns survived their first few months. Hybrids have been reported in the wild but are disadvantaged because they don't properly inherit survival strategies. Mule Deer move with bounding leaps (all 4 hooves hit the ground at once, also called "stotting") to escape predators. Stotting is so specialized that only 100% genetically pure Mule Deer seem able to do it. In captive hybrids, even a one-eighth White-tail/seven-eighths Mule Deer hybrid has an erratic [[escape behaviour]] and would be unlikely to survive to breeding age. Hybrids do survive on game ranches where both species are kept and where predators are controlled by man.
==Impact on popular culture==
===Heraldry===
Deer are represented in heraldry by the '''stag''' or '''hart''' (or less often by the '''hind'''). Stag's heads and [[antler]]s also appear as [[charge (heraldry)|charges]].
Examples can be found in the arms of [[Hertfordshire]] and its county town of [[Hertford]], both examples of [[canting arms]] (a heraldic [[pun]]).
Several Norwegian municipalities have a stag or stag's head in their arms: [[Gjemnes]], [[Hitra]], [[Hjartdal]] and [[Voss]].
A deer appears on the arms of the [[Israel]]i Postal Authority (see [[Hebrew]] Wikipedia page [http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A8%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA_%D7%94%D7%93%D7%95%D7%90%D7%A8])
<gallery>
<!-- Deleted image removed: Image:Arms-herts.jpg|<center>Arms of [[Hertfordshire]], [[England]] -->
Image:Blason Raon aux bois.svg|<center>Arms of [[Raon aux Bois]], [[France]]
Image:Wappen Dotternhausen.png|<center>Arms of [[Dotternhausen]], [[Germany]]
Image:Thierachern-coat of arms.svg|<center>Arms of [[Thierachern]], [[Switzerland]]
Image:Wappen Friolzheim.png|<center>Arms of [[Friolzheim]], [[Germany]]
Image:Bauen-coat of arms.svg|<center>Arms of [[Bauen]], [[Switzerland]]
Image:Wappen Albstadt.png|<center>Arms of [[Albstadt]], [[Germany]]
Image:Earl Bathurst coa.png|<center>Arms of the [[Earls Bathurst]]
Image:Gjemnes_komm.png|<center>Arms of [[Gjemnes]], [[Norway]]
Image:Hitra_komm.png|<center>Arms of [[Hitra]], [[Norway]]
Image:Hjartdal_komm.png|<center>Arms of [[Hjartdal]], [[Norway]]
Image:Voss_komm.png|<center>Arms of [[Voss]], [[Norway]]
Image:JBZ logo.JPG|Logo of the [[Jerusalem Biblical Zoo]]
</gallery>
===Literature and art===
[[Image:MocheStag.jpg|thumb|Resting Deer. [[Moche]] Culture ([[Peru]]) [[Larco Museum|Larco Museum Collection]]]]
[[Image:Nature and Appearance of Deer and how they can be hunted with Dogs Fac simile of a Miniature in the Livre du Roy Modus Manuscript of the Fourteenth Century National Library of Paris.png|thumb|"Nature and Appearance of Deer, and how they can be hunted with Dogs," taken from "Livre du Roy Modus", created in the 14th century]]
*For the role of deer in [[mythology]], see [[Deer (mythology)|deer in mythology]].
*The "[[Golden Hind]]" was an [[England|English]] [[galleon]] best known for its global circumnavigation between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir [[Francis Drake]].
*The book [[Fire Bringer]] is a fiction book that is about a young fawn who is born and goes on a quest to save the deer kind who are called the Herla in the novel.
*In [[Christmas]] lore (such as in the narrative poem "[[A Visit from St. Nicholas]]"), [[reindeer]] are often depicted pulling the [[sleigh]] of [[Santa Claus]].
*One famous fictional deer is ''Bambi''. In the [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]] film ''[[Bambi]]'', he is a [[white-tailed deer]], while in [[Felix Salten]]'s original book ''[[Bambi, A Life in the Woods]]'', he is a [[roe deer]].
*The [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning 1938 novel ''[[The Yearling]]'', written by [[Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings]], was about a boy's relationship with a baby deer, later [[The Yearling (film)|adapted to a children's film]] that was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Picture]].
*Saint [[Hubertus]] saw a stag with a [[crucifix]] between its antlers while hunting on [[Good Friday]] and was converted to [[Christianity]] by the vision.
*In the [[Harry Potter (series)|''Harry Potter'']]'' series, the [[Patronus Charm]] that [[Harry Potter]] conjures to repel [[Dementors]] is a silver stag. [[James and Lily Potter|James Potter]], Harry's father, had an [[Animagus]] form as a stag. Also, Harry's mother [[James and Lily Potter|Lily]], and subsequently [[Severus Snape]]'s, Patronus form was a doe.
*In one of the stories of [[Baron Munchhausen]], the baron encounters a stag while eating cherries and without ammunition, fires the cherry-pits at the stag with his musket, but it escapes. The next year, the baron encounters a stag with a [[cherry tree]] growing from its head; presumably this is the animal he had shot at the previous year.
*A [[Samurai]] warrior named [[Honda Tadakatsu]] famously adorned deer antlers on his helmet.
*Deer have been a subject in [[Chinese painting]]s numerous times as a tranquility symbol.
* In ''[[The Animals of Farthing Wood]]'', a deer called [[The Great White Stag (Farthing Wood)|The Great White Stag]] is the leader of all the animal residents of the [[nature reserve]] [[White Deer Park]].
* In ''[[The Queen (film)|The Queen]]'', a 14 point "Imperial" stag plays a role in the film.
* The [[Yaqui]] deer song (maso bwikam) accompanies the deer dance which is performed by a pascola [from the Spanish 'pascua', Easter] dancer (also known as a deer dancer). Pascolas will perform at religio-social functions many times of the year, but especially during Lent and Easter.
* Deer are depicted in many materials by various pre-Hispanic civilizations in the Andes.<ref>Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. ''The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the [[Larco Museum|Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera]].'' New York: [[Thames and Hudson]], 1997.</ref>
* Several [[Germany|German]] towns are called "[[Hirschberg]]", a name composed of ''[[Hirsch]]'' (deer) and ''[[Berg]]'' (hill or mountain).
* Among [[East European]] [[Jew]]s, "Hirsh" - [[Yiddish]] for "stag" - was a common male name, and was among other others the name of several prominent [[Rabbi]]s; in this community there was, however, no equivalent female name. In contemporary [[Israel]], several [[Hebrew]] names for this animal are commonly used as both male and female names. These include "Tzvi" (צבי) and "Eyal"(אייל) - two synonymous words for "stag"; "Tzviya" (צביה) and "Ayala" (איילה) - the respective parallel words for "Hind" or "Doe"; as well as "Ofer" (עופר) and "Ofra"(עפרה), respectively the male and female words for the young of this animal - which are all commonly used as first names among the Israeli population. In addition, there are Israelis having as their first name "[[Bambi]]", derived from the well-known [[Disney]] animated film.
==See also==
*[[Deer Rubs]]
*[[Deer forest]]
*[[Deer hunting]]
*[[Deer stalking]]
*[[Reindeer hunting in Greenland]]
==References==
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{{reflist}}
{{refimprove|date=August 2007}}
==External links==
{{commons|Cervidae}}
{{wikispecies|Cervidae}}
{{wiktionary}}
*[http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cervidae.html Family Cervidae] at the [[Animal Diversity Web]]
*[http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/cwdinformation.asp Chronic Wasting Disease Information]
*[http://cerfs.free.fr/english/english.htm Deer's life]
*[http://www.pelorian.com/deer.html Deer in the Yard]
{{Artiodactyla|R.1}}
{{Heraldic creatures}}
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