Habitat

Deer in Ireland

There are 40 known deer species found worldwide, three of which can be found in Ireland. deer evolved about 23 million years ago.
They belong to a group (order) called artiodactyls (even toed). Deer are herbivorous hoofed ruminants.

Habitat and Diet
All deer generally feed early in the morning and late evening and rest during the day.
Red and fallow deer are primarily grazers (various grasses), but will supplement their diet with leaves of various trees, acorns, fruits, mushrooms and agricultural crops.
Sika deer are intermediate (grazers and browsers) and opportunistic feeders. All deer are associatedwith woodlands of various types, open hill areas and pastures.


Droppings

The droppings of red deer are black-brown in colour, about 2cmlong.
Fallow deer droppings are about 1.5cm long and black in colour.
Droppings of sika deer areblack and small less than 1.5cm. (Goat and sheep droppings are similar; but are about 1cm in length with flattened ends).

 

Signs
Flattened areas of vegetation may be found where deer would have been lying up during the daytime.
Regular paths/trails through undergrowth are often visible.

Stags will thrash and fray tree branches and bole score (antler gouging) tree trunks.
Sometimes shed antlers may be found and small mammals and deer will eat these, as they are a good source of calcium during the winter months.

Vocalisations
Usually both sexes of all deer are silent, with the exception of alarm and rutting (mating) calls.
The rutting calls of the males are very different.
Red stags emit an impressive roar, which can be repeated several times and maybe heard some distance away.
Sika stag calls can be very loud with piercing whistles and squeaks.
Fallow bucks emit a groaning sound – like a deep’ belch’ that is repeated frequently.

European red deer (Cervuselaphus)
Red deer
Adult stags ~220kg, shoulder
Height ~1.5m
Adult hinds ~140kg, shoulder
Height ~1m
Newborn calf ~6-9kg
Life span up to 15 yearsAs Gaeilge – Fia rua

The native red deer is Ireland’s largest land mammal.
The earliest record of red deer in Ireland is 26,000 years ago, and it is believed that the red deer inhabiting the Killarney Valley are the closest living population to the post-glacial native Irish red deer.
The rest of the red deer in Ireland were introduced in the1800-1900s from Scotland, England and France. Males are known as stags, females as hinds, and offspring as calves.
During the summer months, the coat is a deep chestnut-red colour, whereas in winter the coat dulls to a brown.
The underbelly is a cream colour and faint beige spots may be seen along the flanks.
The rump patch is a creamy-beige colour and extends onto the back of the deer, above a very short tail.
Only the males have antlers, which are U-shaped when viewed head-on.
Antlers are shed between March and April annually and new growth on the next set begins immediately.
The rut begins in late September and lasts until November.
During the rut, the stags become very vocal and emit characteristic deep roars.
They also become very aggressive and fights between males are quite frequent.
The hinds deliver a single calf after a pregnancy of7.5 to 8 months.
The calf is born between mid-May and early June.
It is born with a spotty coat, which remains until about 2months of age, acting as a camouflage against predators (e.g. fox).
The mother will return to feed it every 2-3 hours.
Calves are weaned between the age’s of5 and 10 months.
The calves stay with their mothers until approximately 2 years of age.

Key Identification features for Red deer
Largest Irish land mammal
Very short tail
Red-brown coat with creamunderbelly
Cream rump patch, extends ontoback
U-shaped, multi-pointed complexantlers
Tracks: shaped like pair ofslippers, 8cm long

European fallow deer (Dama dama dama)
Fallow deer
Adult bucks 80-110kg, shoulder
Height ~1m
Adult does 40-55kg, shoulder
Height ~85cm
Newborn calf ~3-5kg
Life span up to 18 years
As Gaeilge – Fia bui.

A medium sized deer, non-native to Ireland.
The Normans introduced fallow deer to Ireland in 1244 from England to Glencreein County Wicklow.
Males are known as bucks, females as does, and offspring as fawns.
There are several different coat colours in fallow deer, they do not make them different species; the different colours are like our hair colour.
The summer coat colours (glossy black, chestnut browns, ginger browns) are very vibrant and may/may not have white spots.
During the winter months the animals grow a thicker shaggy duller version.
The rump patch is a clear white colour, surrounded by a black edge.
The tail is very long.
The antlers in fallow bucks are palmate.
The bucks only carry antlers.
Antlers are shed each spring (March to April) and the new set begins to grow immediately.
The rut occurs during October and November, where bucks will engage in fights and they become more vocal.
After a pregnancy of 7.5 to 8months, a single fawn is born during the month of June.
The fawns are born with a spotty coat. The mother returns every few hours during the day and night to feed it.
Fawns are weaned between 7 and 9 months of age.



Key Identification features for Fallow deer

Medium sized deer
Prominent ‘Adam’s apple’
Has brush on penile sheath
Has a very long tail
Buck has broad flattened antlers(Palmate)
Rump patch is white, blackbordered & heart-shaped



Japanese sika deer (Cervusnippon nippon)
As Gaeilge – Fia Seapánach
Japanese sika deer
Adult stags 50-60kg, shoulderheight ~80cm
Adult hinds ~35kg, shoulderheight 65-70cm
Newborn calf ~2-3kgLife span up to ~18 years

Ireland’s smallest non-native deer species.
Lord Powers court introduced Japanese sika deer to Ireland in 1860 to his estate in County Wicklow.
These deer originated from the Japanese island of Kyushu.
Some of these hybridised with red deer and then escaped or were released into the Wicklow hills where they flourished.
Males are called stags, females are hinds, and offspring are calves. The summer coat is a light reddish brown colour with faint/clearly visible spots along the flanks.
The belly is a light grey or beige colour.
In contrast, the winter coat is a dark grey brown with no spots, with a greyish belly.
In both coats, a distinctive black dorsal (back)stripe is clearly seen extending from the head to the tail.
The rump patch in both coats is bright white, heart-shaped and bordered by a black edge.
Antlers are only carried by the stags, and are V-shaped in outline when viewed head-on.
They are shed annually, in April, and new growth begins immediately.
Stags hold territories and defend their areas during the rut (September to October), with fights occurring.
After 7 to 7.5months, the hind will give birth to a single calf. The coat of the calf is white-spotted deep chestnut colour.
Its mother will return to feed it every couple of hours. Calves are weaned between 6 and 8 months of age.


Key Identification features for Sika deer
Smallest Irish deer
Rump patch is white, blackbordered & heart shaped
Black back stripe from head totail
Tail is medium (intermediatebetween red and fallow deer)
V-shaped simple antlers (6-8points)
Tracks: large and splayed, 8cmlong & 6cm wide

If you find a fawn/calf, please do not pick it up or touch it.
They are not abandoned.
Their mothers are often not far away and will return to feed it when no humans are around.
Deer have a strong sense of smell, and can smell the human scent off a fawn/calf if it has been touched and may reject it.
The deer distributions maps are provided courtesy of The Irish Deer Society.

Economic factors and Conservation issues
All deer can be a threat to woodlands (native and non native) due to their feedinghabits, which can prevent regeneration when deer populations are too dense.
They may cause damage in plantation forests by uprooting newly planted trees, browsing shoots and buds of young trees and bole scoring.
They can strip bark from the trunk and branches of older trees.
Foresters should leave open spaces within a plantation scheme, as this would encourage deer to feed on these patches instead.
Hybridisation between red and sika deer poses a threat to both species, as well as between escapees from deer farms.
In County Wicklow, there has been extensive hybridisation between sika deer and red deer, and all deer in this area are considered to be hybrids.
Deer will occasionally browse and damage agricultural crops.
Farmers should consider planting a ‘sacrificial’ stand of fodder crops to encourage deer away from the main crops.
Six to eight foot fencing may be erected to exclude deer, but well maintained traditional hedge and ditch systems are equally suffice.

Additionally, farmers should consider leaving the top strand of barbed wire off fencing where there are known deer trails, as this allows younger deer to jump the fence as deer may be passing through to access water sources.
Protection & Deer ManagementAll deer are protected under the Wildlife Acts 1976, 2000 in Ireland.
In the absence of natural predators, e.g. the wolf, since wolves were persecuted to extinction during the 18th Century, it is necessary that deer numbers be managed to protect habitats and to ensure the welfare of deer by protecting them from starvation due to overgrazing .
Thus, they are humanely culled at certain times of the year, under licence by National Parks and Wildlife Service (Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government ).
Approximately 4,500 wild sika deer or sikahybrids,2500 wild fallow deer, 500 red deer and 400 red-like hybrids are legally shot and reported annually.
Due to the special native status of the red deer in County Kerry, hunting of red deer is absolutely prohibited in Kerry, unless under direct permission of the Minister.

If you find an injured deer, please report it to your nearest Wildlife Ranger (NPWS) or Garda station.

Suggested further reading
Rooney, S. and Hayden, T.J. (2002).
Forest mammals – Managementand Control. COFORD, Dublin,Ireland.Hayden, T. and Harrington, R.(2000).
Exploring Irish Mammals.Town House and Country HouseLtd., Dublin, Ireland.
Geist, V. (1999). Deer of the world:their evolution, behaviour andecology. Swan Hill Press, UK.Fairley, J.S. (1975).
An Irish BeastBook. Blackstaff Press, Belfast, UK.Lawrence, M.J. and Brown, R.W.(1967).
Mammals of Britain: theirtracks, trails and signs. BlandfordPress, London, UK.

Web links of interest
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Content and drawings preparedby Ruth Carden (zoologist).

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