Deer are our largest native land mammal and the opportunity of seeing them in our countryside is now greater than ever. Despite this many people have never seen wild deer in their natural habitat.

This section provides an invaluable insight into their identification and natural history. Hopefully it will promote and encourage others to take up an interest in deer and give them the opportunity and thrill of observing deer in the wild.

It is through this medium that we can best understand wild deer and make informed judgements on their management and protection.

- Charlie Parkes OBE and John Thornely OBE

Red Deer

Red deer are Britain's largest land mammal; the size varying considerable due to their habitat, woodland/lowland deer being considerably bigger than those living in the more hostile moorland environment of the Scottish hills. A hummel, an adult red deer stag without antlers, is invariably bigger and heavier than its antlered companions. The plain coloured coat of the adult is thicker in winter than in summer, the deer having a very bedraggled appearance as the winter coat is moulted off, giving way to the sleeker summer coat. Both sexes have a long face which becomes greyish with age and they have large, mobile ears. they have a distinctive, buff coloured rump patch and a short tail. Occasionally there is a dark line running the length of the spine. During the rut, stags develop a thick neck and noticeable mane. The calf is dappled or spotted at birth, the spot disappearing by the time the animal is a few weeks old.

Fallow Deer

Fallow deer, unlike other species, occur in a wide range of colours. The white variety are not albino but may be a yellowish white, particularly as the deer gets older. The attractive dappled, 'menil' variety which are often seen in pictures depicting the species, retain their spots all the year round. 'Common' fallow which are darker then menil, lose their spots in the winter but both menil and common have distinctive rump markings of a dark curved line around a light coloured patch which are retained all year. Black 'melinstic' fallow have no white or beige colouring at all, markings being a paler shade of grey. All fallow deer have a very long tail which is constantly flicked about and is raised in alarm. All fawns are dappled at birth. this 'pronking' gait of the fallow deer is a jerky, jumping movement which may be seen as the animal departs, often when surprised or alarmed.

Roe Deer

Roe deer are considered by many to be our most attractive deer species. The ears are large and very mobile. They have a black muzzle with white hairs under the chin and large, slightly slanting eyes. Adult roe deer do not have spots. The dark winter coat, which is thicker and much darker than the summer coat, is changed in about two months to the sleek foxy red coat of summer. Fawns, or kids as young roe are generally called, have a spotted, or dappled coats which blend with their background making them difficult to locate. The dappled coat of the kid becomes a uniform beige colour by the age of three months. Roe have no visible tail and the sexes are easily distinguished from the back as the busk has a heart shaped caudal patch, which is white and very conspicuous in winter; the doe having a more oval patch and a tuft of hair, known as an anal tush. The caudal patch is buff and less noticeable in the summer.

Muntjac Deer

Muntjac are the smallest species of deer living wild in Britain. The antlers are only one obvious characteristic by which the buck is recognisably different to the doe as the facial markings are distinctive - the pedicles on the buck creating a 'V' shape, whilst the does has a diamond shape marking on her forehead. From the back both sexes have a thick, broad tail which is white on the underside and sometimes carried erect, especially when the deer is alarmed. The coat colour changes from dark brown in winter to a foxy red brown in summer. Whilst the coat is changing the animal looks very untidy, quite different from it usual sleek appearance. Both sexes grow long upper canine teeth or tusks which have a sharp point and edge. The tusks are quite obvious when the buck stands sideways, but are less conspicuous in the doe. Muntjac often appear to be hunched, especially when feeding, however they can stand with the back as straight as other deer.

Sika Deer

There are seventeen subspecies of the sika deer, though those that occur most commonly in the wild in the UK are the Japanese variety which are described here. The coat colour changes from rich chestnut in the summer to dark brown/black in the winter, the change is so dramatic that you may think you see a different species of deer. Stags are generally darker than hinds, particularly around the neck and shoulders. There is a dark line along the spine, on both sexes, which is visible at all times. The short face has a horseshoe shaped mark on the forehead. The conspicuous target, or rump patch, is bright white, heart shaped and is fanned out when the deer is alarmed. The coat of the calf is dappled at birth. Antlers usually have four points, and although smaller they are similar to those of the red deer for which they may be mistaken. The velvet covering in which the antlers grow is black in the Japanese variety, but dark red in the Formosan sika which occasionally occur in the wild in the UK.

Chinese Water Deer

Chinese Water Deer bucks are approximately 30% heavier than the does which appear more delicate. Both sexes have large rounded ears which are very mobile. From the rear the short tail, which is 5 to 10 cm long, is inconspicuous though it may stick out on the buck during the rut. The eyes and nose have been said to resemble three shiny buttons. A thick winter coat is assumed in autumn. In the spring the coat looks very scruffy, with tufts of hair hanging down as it changes to the sleeker summer coat. The muscular hind legs are longer than the front legs, and when moving this species has been mistaken for a hare, despite the considerable difference in size. The long upper canine tusks are probably the most notable identifying feature.