Rob, Ruth, Rudolph, Roma, Rick & Rachel

The deer’s antlers are made of bone material and are covered with a skin when they are growing, called velvet. Cattle horns are made of the same substance as hair or claws.

Deer are ruminants, having 4 stomachs like the cattle family, but they have unique characteristics of shedding their antlers (those that have them) every year and growing new ones. In Red Deer, antler development begins after one year with a single ‘spike’ and is complete by the 6-8th ‘head’.

Only in reindeer does the female grow antlers.

Deer are excellent swimmers and sure-footed climbers. They have a facial gland in front of each eye that releases pheromone to mark territory.

Deer live on grass, and tree bark, shoots and leaves.

Red Deer are from the deer (Cervidae) family, which also includes animals ranging in size from the massive European elk or moose (2.35m or 7’7”high at the shoulder) to the tiny South American pudu (25cm or 10” at the shoulder).

Red deer are farmed commercially in Britain, and even more in New Zealand. The meat is venison, and the skin is used for leather products and the antlers for buttons and handles.