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DEER
RED DEER Cervus elaphus
Identification The population of Red Deer in Algeria/Tunisia is known
as Barbary Red Deer, while the Red Deer in Iran are called Maral. A
number of subspecies are described across the region, but all are easily
recognizable as Red Deer. This is by far the largest deer in the region.
Only the stag carries the large, multi-branched antlers that are shed
and regrown each year. Stags in Iranian populations usually have a
double brow-tine; elsewhere this is usually single. The winter coat is
grey-brown to dark-brown, with or without faint white spotting (if
present, spotting is clearer in the summer coat). The summer coat
is usually more yellowish- to reddish-brown. A dark dorsal stripe is
generally present and runs from the neck to about two-thirds the
length of the back. There is also usually a pale yellowish rump patch.
The underparts are paler than the rest of the body.
Size Shoulder height 75–110 cm.
Weight 7 5 –>200 kg.
Habitat and Behaviour Red Deer have a relatively wide habitat
tolerance, but are typically found in forest and open bush cover, often
(but not always) in hill country. They eat a wide range of plants that
they graze and browse equally. For most of the year stags and hinds
live in separate herds, with each sex normally forming groups of 8–20
individuals. Herds of hinds and young are usually quite stable, but
those of stags are much more loosely associated. Older Red Deer stags
are often solitary. During the rut (September to October in North
Africa; late summer to autumn in Iran), a mature stag moves into an
area occupied by a herd of hinds. The dominant hind continues to
control the herd, with the stag trying to keep other males away. It is