Fallow Deer

Fallow Deer

Introduced to South Africa, the Fallow Deer was a native of most of Europe during the last Interglacial. In the Holocene, the distribution was restricted to the Middle East and possibly also parts of the Mediterranean region, while further southeast in western Asia was the home of a close relative, the Persian Fallow Deer (Dama mesopotamica), that is bigger and has larger antlers. In the Levant, Fallow Deer were an important source of meat in the Palaeolithic Kebaran-culture (17000-10000 BC), as is shown by animal bones from sites in northern Israel, but the numbers decreased in the following epi-Palaeolithic Natufian culture (10000-8500 BC), perhaps because of increased aridity and the decrease of wooded areas.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The Fallow Deer (Dama dama) is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae.

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.

The species is very variable in color, 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 colored, 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).

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 bucks will spread 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.

STATUS

As stated earlier, Fallow Deer have been introduced to Southern Africa. Having long been “farmed”, as well as being a striking looking animal, they make for a popular trophy and the population is considered to be very stable. With low trophy fees and great tasting meat, they make a fun option to any safari.

WEAPONS USED

Because Fallow Deer are not particularly large animals, nor thick skinned, any rifle suitable for pronghorn antelope or whitetail deer is sufficient for hunting these antelope. However, because they typically inhabit areas of wide open grassveldt as well as plains mixed with wooded cover, a long range, flat shooting rifle is recommended. 6mm, .270 Winchester and larger calibers with good optics are good choices.

For archery hunters, any bow capable of downing a whitetail will work. Most Fallow Deer will be taken by walk & stalk because of their love of mixed terrain.