Where does the red deer live?
The red deer lives across most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran and parts of Western Asia. It also lives in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa, being the only living deer species in Africa. It has been introduced to Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. Its French name is a pleonasm, since "élaphe" already means "deer" in Greek.
What does the red deer eat?
The red deer is a ruminant: it digests its food in two stages, with a four-chambered stomach. Like camels, goats and cattle, it has an even number of toes on each hoof. A male is called a stag and a female a hind. Males live with the females during the mating season, the rut. Deer of central and western Europe vary greatly in size, with some of the largest found in the Carpathian Mountains.
Is the red deer endangered?
No: the IUCN lists it as Least Concern. Reintroduction and conservation efforts, such as in the United Kingdom and Portugal, have increased its populations, while other areas, such as North Africa, continue to lose them. After intensive hunting, populations of large deer had declined strongly in Western and Southern Europe from the end of the Middle Ages.
