Deer Fallow

The Fallow Deer (Dama dama) is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. Bucks stand at around 100cm (3ft) at the shoulder and can weigh upto 85kg (187lbs) with the females being slightly smaller.

Fallow deer vary in colour, with four main variants, 'common', 'meni', '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. Most herds consist of the common form but have menil 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 preferring a mixed woodland and open grassland habitat.