Not sure which deer? Free Online Guide: Identifying deer in the UK (2024)

FAQs

What kind of deer are in the UK? ›

Six species of deer live freely in the British countryside. Only red deer and roe deer are truly indigenous. Fallow deer were almost certainly introduced by the Normans while three Asiatic species, Reeves' muntjac, Chinese water deer and sika deer arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

How to identify. The red deer has dark russet-brown fur, with a paler buff rump patch and a pale tail. Look out for herds of large, sturdy deer with branching antlers.

Roe has a plain cream/white rump (oval shape in males and upside down heart shape in females) which can be flared when alarmed, with no visible tail. Fallow coat can vary greatly but is typically brown with white spots in summer and paler brown with white spots in winter.

The small, Chinese muntjac deer was introduced to Woburn Park in Bedfordshire at the start of the 20th century and rapidly spread into the surrounding area. It is now a common animal across southeast England and can be found in woodland, parkland and even gardens.

Red Deer. The red deer is Britain's largest native land mammal (adult stags weigh up to 190 kg and are up to around 140 cm at the shoulder).

UK producers mainly farm red deer although some use fallow deer.

Roe deer are abundant throughout the UK except for Northern Ireland. They are particularly associated with the edges of woodlands and forests, but are also found in areas with copse, scrub, hedgerows and in agricultural fields.

The UK is home to six deer species, but only the red and roe deer are native. Hunting and loss of woodland meant red deer were rare by the end of the 18th century. However, numbers have grown considerably over the past 100 years, thanks to habitat changes and releases or escapes from deer parks.

Size: Up to 1.37 metres at the shoulder, length from nose to tail is 2.01m in males. Weight: Calves 30-50kg; females 70-100kg; mature males 100-180kg, up to 225kg. Lifespan: Up to 20 years, but few deer live longer than 16 years.

Four species of deer are found in Scotland: red, roe, fallow and sika. Red and roe deer are native species.

What are the small brown deer in the UK? ›

Muntjac are a russet brown colour for most of the year, turning to a dull grey in winter. Male muntjac called bucks, females does and the young fawn. Reeves' Muntjac deer are a small but stocky species of deer and when fully grown males (bucks) weigh between 10 to 18kg as adults and females (does) weigh 9 to 16kg.

Muntjac are the smallest deer in Britain and are about 45cm at the shoulder. They have a hunched posture due to their haunches being higher than their withers.

According to the British Deer Society, white deer are usually part of the fallow deer species, and sightings in the UK are said to be “extremely rare”.

For all deer of any species - a minimum calibre of . 240 and minimum muzzle energy of 1,700 foot pounds is the legal requirement.

While white-tailed deer are found worldwide, they are not native to Northern Europe. This animal is only found in North America and parts of Central Asia.

However, as the species was formerly found in the UK, they can be considered as Extinct in the Wild in a Scottish context.

They have Moose at the safari section of the Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore in Scotland. When I last visited in August they had a family, including two calves born in May (2023).

In the Disney film adaptations, Bambi's species was changed from a roe deer to a white-tailed deer, which would be more familiar to American audiences. His image is a Disney icon, comparable to the recognition of Jiminy Cricket or Tinker Bell, and he is even shown on Disney stock certificates.