• Characteristics of the fallow deer
• Habits of the fallow deer
• Curiosities about fallow deer

Characteristics of the fallow deer

The fallow deer (Dama dama) is a mammal belonging to the Cervidae family, originally from the Mediterranean area and introduced in Italy and Europe already in Roman times as a species of hunting interest .

It is a species that adapts well to various environmental conditions, which is why it is widespread in areas with different characteristics, from woods to agricultural areas. The fallow deer is therefore an allochthonous species in Italy but is now common in broad-leaved and coniferous forests throughout the Alps and Apennines.

Characterized by an elegant posture , the fallow deer has an intermediate build between the deer and the roe deer: the body, which ends with a small tail, can reach and exceed one meter and a half in length for a height over one meter and a weight from 50 to 110 kilograms.

In the young specimens the coat is brown with white spots on the sides: unlike the deer, the presence of spots – called pomellatura – is also present in the adult specimens but in these the color of the coat varies over the seasons to blend in better with the environment. surrounding.

In fact, during the winter the fallow deer appears gray-brown, but the coat changes in the spring turning towards the reddish and developing both the white spots and a black stripe that runs along the back from the neck to the tail.

Some specimens have a more evident pommel , while the melanistic fallow deer, common on the islands including Sardinia, is characterized by a darker color, genetically determined.

The horns , called antlers, are present only in the male specimens after the first year of age and not in the young and in the female fallow deer, which is also smaller than the male. These are large and flattened structures that can reach up to 80 centimeters in length.

The antlers of the fallow deer develop in late spring and are initially covered with a fabric called velvet, which dries up during the summer at the end of the antler growth and falls, also thanks to the rubbing on the bark of the trees . In spring, the fallow deer antlers fall off and then reform.

Habits of the fallow deer

The fallow deer, as we have seen, is widespread on all our mountain ranges and is able to adapt to different climatic conditions. It is a social animal , active above all at night, with excellent
hearing, excellent eyesight and the ability to communicate with fellow humans through body language and thanks to six different types of sounds. 

The sound emitted by the fallow deer is called a bellow and is less loud and shorter than that of the deer. As far as eating habits are concerned , the fallow deer is a ruminant herbivore with few needs and capable of adapting in situations of scarcity of resources. Normally it feeds on grass, leaves, buds, fruits, but also on the bark of young trees. The latter aspect makes this species harmful for areas subject to reforestation.

Sexual maturity occurs shortly after the first year of age and the fallow deer reproduces in late autumn, between October and November. In this period the male fallow deer trace the territory – called the arena – through the urine, rubbing themselves against the trees and emitting grunts to attract the female fallow deer. 

If another male enters the arena, the fallow deer give rise to violent fighting . The female fallow deer, after a gestation of 230 days, looks for an isolated and sheltered place to give birth. She normally gives birth to only one puppy capable of taking its first steps after an hour. The young fallow deer are suckled for three or four months but after weaning they are not yet able to fend for themselves: the social maturity of the fallow deer is reached after about three years.

In the wild, fallow deer usually live for more than twenty years. The biggest predator of the fallow deer is humans , followed by the wolf, puma and bear, depending on the area.

Curiosities about fallow deer

The fallow deer is an allochthonous species native to Turkey and widespread in Europe and Italy by the ancient Romans and Phoenicians. Thanks to its great adaptability, the fallow deer spread throughout our peninsula without difficulty and then came close to extinction at the end of the sixties due to hunting and poaching . 

Starting from the second half of the 1970s, it was therefore introduced again in the regions where it had disappeared: the specimens were placed in enclosures scattered throughout the country.

However, some specimens have managed to escape from these enclosures and have reproduced, becoming a problem for crops and different administrations every year open the hunt for fallow deer to contain the population of these animals.

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