What Does A Deer Look Like?

Numerous people confuse the deer with the antelope so What Does A Deer Look Like Basically, a deer is a hoofed mammal that eats grass. They are mainly found in groups.

A majority of the deer species are brown in color. However, some change color with seasons. The white stellar deer is one of them. What Do Deer Need To Survive In The Jungle?

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What Are The Various Deer Species? (What Does A Deer Look Like?)

There are different species in the deer family. The main factor that influences the appearance of a deer is the geographical location.

The climatic condition also affects the appearance of the deer and will also help to understand What Does A Deer Look Like in different places.

In Africa, the major deer species is the Barbary stag. In Asia, the major deer species is the Indian Muntaj. Different places around the world have different deer species. Deer hunting experience

However, researchers are putting different deer species from their native homelands. New mutations have formed in the recent past. There are also extinct deer species e.g. the Irish elk.

How Do You Identify A Deer? (This will surprise you!)

When you are passing around a park or any place, here are some of the traits that you look for in a deer to quench your thirst on What Does A Deer Look Like.

Antlers

The presence of antlers is the most unique factor about the deer. Primarily, antlers look like horns. However, they are unique and form a variety of shapes in the deer family.

The deer is mainly hunted due to antlers. The antlers are not called horns since horns are grown from a hair tissue.

Antlers are real bones that have actual phosphorous. They are also the main reason that will show What Does A Deer Look Like

However, antlers are on male species except for the caribou species where they are on females.

They Live In Groups

Basically, the deer are in large numbers. Primarily, the male lives in their own groups until the mating season comes when they travel to find mates.

A female deer basically gives birth from one to four fawns. It is hard for you to notice them since the mother places them in different hidden locations.

The fawn has numerous predators and hence is always in hiding. It is very hard to find a lone deer.

More to that, deers are mainly browsers. Unlike grazers like antelopes, the deer enjoy eating twigs and leaves in the shrubs. However, they also eat grass.

Hoofs

Unlike donkeys or the zebras, one of the main traits about the deer is that it has a cloven hoof.

This basically means that the hoofs appear in twos. In the zebra, the hoof only appears as one on each leg.

Since the deer are generally light, the hoofs also serve a purpose in defense. When cornered, the deer will throw its sharp hoofs to the predator to make it give up or hurt the predator.

Generally, ungulates are animals with twin hoofs. More to that, the deer chews the cud. This is because they have four stomachs since they are ruminants. Chewing cud helps them to properly digest their food.

Camouflage

The deer family also possess the camouflage traits. A majority of deer species are brown in color or a red color that is close to brown.

This is to hide from predators when they are in the brown grass.

Camouflage is important since it prevents predators from easily identifying the deer. More to that, fawns do not produce any smell so that it is a hard task for predators to smell them.

However, in regions where the four seasons are eminent e.g in America we have the white-tail deer that is brown at the top and white at the bottom.

This type of deer is unique since it changes color during the four seasons. This helps it to camouflage.

Basically, the deer has a different color depending on the locality and the time that you find them.

What Is The Appropriate Height and Weight of A Deer?

Generally, bucks(male deer) are always larger than the doe(female deer). The deer can weigh up to 700kgs and as low as 36kg.

A moose which is mainly found in America weighs 700kgs as an adult. Researchers have claimed that it tastes similar to beef. It is also very huge in size.

The chital which is popular in the Asian continent especially in India is very light weighing 36kgs. The mull deer found in North America has an average mass of 150kgs.

Different parts of the world contain deer species. They also vary in mass and appearance. Basically, the average deer is three feet tall and six feet in its average length from head to tail.

How Do The Deer Behave?

Another trait that will help you identify a deer is the behavior. One eminent behavior is that they mate during the rut which is from October to January.

During normal days, the male deer can appear as a loner or go with a male only group. This is primarily defined by the eating habits between the buck and the doe.

Basically, the deer is silent except during the mating season. The male fight to show their dominance and strength. The males also produce sounds when mating.

The deer have a very high sense of smell.E.g. When a person touches a fawn with his or her bare hands, the deer will rebel the fawn since it smells different.

Male fawns also eat more heavily especially when they are small compared to the female. They suck more milk since they need to be huge in order for them to retain dominance.

Eating patterns in the deer family is quite different. This is because they eat more in the morning(dawn) and in the evening (dusk).

Conclusion

So basically What Does A Deer Look Like?

The deer is a four-legged mammal that is a ruminant. It feeds on grass, twigs and leaves. There are over 10 species of deer.

There are some deer species that have become extinct e.g the Steller sea cow.

The deer live more in captivity but does not exceed 10 years.

The antlers are the most unique feature in a deer. The antlers are not a horn since it is part of a bone. When shed off the antlers can later grow.

There are various species of the deer that change color in different seasons of the year. This is to enable then camouflage from the predators. The deer has a strong sense of smell and can swim.

The eyes can turn up to 310 degrees. They eyes will sense anything fishy from predators in a matter of seconds.

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