Red Deer

by Colin Hunt

Title

Red Deer

Artist

Colin Hunt

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Photograph of a Red Deer stag, taken in the Wild Park in Bad Malente, Germany.

The Red Deer is a member of the genus Cervus, within the subfamily Cervinae (Old World deer). Unlike most other deer, the male Red Deer is called a Stag (instead of buck) and the female a hind (instead of doe).


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The red deer (Cervus elaphus) is one of the largest deer species. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, Iran, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being the only species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red deer have been introduced to other areas, including Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. In many parts of the world, the meat (venison) from red deer is used as a food source.

Red deer are ruminants, characterized by a four-chambered stomach. Genetic evidence indicates the red deer as traditionally defined is a species group, rather than a single species, although it remains disputed as to exactly how many species the group includes. The closely related and slightly larger American elk or wapiti, native to North America and eastern parts of Asia, had been regarded as a subspecies of red deer, but recently it has been established as a distinct species. It is probable that the ancestor of all red deer, including wapiti, originated in central Asia and resembled sika deer.

Although at one time red deer were rare in parts of Europe, they were never close to extinction. Reintroduction and conservation efforts, such as in the United Kingdom and in Portugal, have resulted in an increase of red deer populations, while other areas, such as North Africa, have continued to show a population decline.

The male (stag) red deer is typically 175 to 250 cm (69 to 98 in) long and weighs 160 to 240 kg (350 to 530 lb); the female (hind) is 160 to 210 cm (63 to 83 in) long and weighs 120 to 170 kg (260 to 370 lb). The tail adds another 12 to 19 cm (4.7 to 7.5 in) and shoulder height is about 95 to 130 cm (37 to 51 in). In Scotland, stags average 201 cm (79 in) in head-and-body length and 122 cm (48 in) high at the shoulder and females average 180 cm (71 in) long and 114 cm (45 in) tall. Size varies in different subspecies with the largest, the huge but small-antlered deer of the Carpathian Mountains (C. e. elaphus), weighing up to 500 kg (1,100 lb). At the other end of the scale, the Corsican red deer (C. e. corsicanus) weighs about 80 to 100 kg (180 to 220 lb), although red deer in poor habitats can weigh as little as 53 to 112 kg (120 to 250 lb). European red deer tend to be reddish-brown in their summer coats. The males of many subspecies also grow a short neck mane during the autumn. The male deer of the British Isles and Norway tend to have the thickest and most noticeable manes. Male Caspian red deer (C. e. maral) and Spanish red deer (C. e. hispanicus) do not carry neck manes. Male deer of all subspecies, however, tend to have stronger and thicker neck muscles than female deer, which may give them an appearance of having neck manes. Red deer hinds (females) do not have neck manes. The European red deer is adapted to a woodland environment.

Only the stags have antlers, which start growing in the spring and are shed each year, usually at the end of winter. Antlers typically measure 71 cm (28 in) in total length and weigh 1 kg (2.2 lb), although large ones can grow to 115 cm (45 in) and weigh 5 kg (11 lb). Antlers, which are made of bone, can grow at a rate of 2.5 cm (1 in) a day. A soft covering known as velvet helps to protect newly forming antlers in the spring. European red deer antlers are distinctive in being rather straight and rugose, with the fourth and fifth tines forming a "crown" or "cup" in larger males. Any tines in excess of the fourth and fifth tine will grow radially from the cup, which are generally absent in the antlers of smaller red deer, such as Corsican red deer. Western European red deer antlers feature "bez" (second) tines that are either absent or smaller than the brow tines. However, bez tines occur frequently in Norwegian red deer. Antlers of Caspian red deer carry large bez tines and form less-developed cups than western European red deer, their antlers are thus more like the "throw back" top tines of the wapiti (C. canadensis), known as maraloid characteristics. A stag can (exceptionally) have antlers with no tines, and is then known as a switch. Similarly, a stag that does not grow antlers is a hummel. The antlers are testosterone-driven and as the stag's testosterone levels drop in the autumn, the velvet is shed and the antlers stop growing. With the approach of autumn, the antlers begin to calcify and the stags' testosterone production builds for the approaching rut (mating season).


This artwork has been featured within the following groups:

Animals PHOTOS ONLY (7th February 2017)

Arts Fantastic World (8th February 2017)

All Natural Beauty Of This World (9th February 2017)

Pictures For Present (10th February 2017)

Our 4-Legged Friends (10th February 2017)

ALL Fine Artwork (12th February 2017)

Images That Excite You (13th February 2017)

Contemporary (14th February 2017)

Ardent Essence Of Your Soul (14th February 2017)

All Art Welcome (15th February 2017)

Your Very Best Photography (15th February 2017)

The World We See Group (24th February 2017)

500 Views Share Group (25th February 2017)

500 Views -1 Image a Day (26th February 2017)

10 Plus (27th February 2017)

500 To 1000 Photo (3rd March 2017)

New FAA Uploads Limit One Per Day (3rd March 2017)

Mind-Blowing Photography (14th March 2017)

Abc Group - M Is For Mammal (27th March 2017)

500 And Beyond Fine Art Group (28th April 2017)

Composition Of Any Medium (28th April 2017)

Wisconsin Flowers And Scenery (29th April 2017)

KINGDOM Animalia (5th May 2017)

Art District (5th May 2017)

No Place Like Home (25th May 2017)

Animal Photographs (8th September 2017)


I would like to thank all the administrators of the above FAA specialty groups for featuring this image in their groups home page. It is a real honour that so many of you liked my artwork enough to do this. Thank You.

Uploaded

February 7th, 2017

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