European Fallow Deer Hunting

European Fallow Deer

(Dama dama)

Current SCI all time record: Score 316 6/8
Current SCI all time record (preserve): Score 320 1/8

Description: There is only one species of Fallow Deer (Dama dama) which is broken down into two distinct sub-species; the European Fallow ( Dama dama dama) and the Persian Fallow (Dama dama mesopotamica).

The species is very variable in colour, with four main variants, "common", "menil", "melanistic" and "albinistic". The common form has a brown coat with white mottles that are most pronounced in summer with a much darker coat in the winter. The albinistic is the lightest coloured, almost white; common and menil are darker, and melanistic is very dark, even black (easily confused with the Sika Deer). Most herds consist of the common form but have menil form and melanistic form animals amongst them (the three groups do not stay separate and interbreed readily).

Other Common Names:

Size: The male is a buck, the female is a doe, and the young a fawn. Bucks are 140-160 cm long and 90-100 cm shoulder height, and 60-85 kg in weight; does are 130-150 cm long and 75-85 cm shoulder height, and 30-50 kg in weight. Fawns are born in spring at about 30 cm and weigh around 4.5 kg. The life span is around 12 years.

Range: Most of Europe; September - December.

Natural History: Only bucks have antlers, these are broad and shovel-shaped. They are grazing animals; their preferred habitat is mixed woodland and open grassland. During the rut in October bucks will spead out and females move between them, at this time of year fallow deer are relatively ungrouped compared to the rest of the year when they try to stay together in groups of up to 150.

Hunting Characteristics: