FALLOW DEER 29 



The third European representative of the deer tribe is the 

 fallow deer (Cervus dama), distinguished by its antlers being 

 cylindrical at the lower end of the shaft, and palmated in the upper part. As it 

 is not properly a member of the central European fauna, its real home being 

 apparently the Mediterranean countries, it may accordingly be treated more 

 briefly than the two preceding species. It is reputed to occur wild in the forests 

 of Tunis, as well as in those of Spain, Sardinia, the Taurus, and some of the 

 islands between Greece and Asia Minor ; and has apparently been introduced into 

 central and northern Em-ope, as well as into Italy, where it had become extinct. 

 This introduction must have been a long time ago, for fallow deer bones have 

 been found in an English cave. At present we find fallow deer in many parts of 

 Germany, France, and England, and they have been acclimatised in southern 

 Sweden and Norway. In 1465 there were dark-coloured fallow deer in Windsor 

 Park ; and under the Great Elector these were introduced into Brandenburg, and 

 under Frederick William I. into Pomerania. In these and other districts from the 

 Alps northward the fallow deer, provided it is taken care of during the winter, 

 thrives well ; but it has almost degenerated into a domesticated animal, and its colour 

 is subject to much variation. Generally it is yellowish brown, or tan-coloured, a 

 little darker on the head and upper part of the neck, and marked on the back with 

 a dark line running from the neck to the end of the tail. On the sides of the body 

 and on the haunches it is more or less spotted with white in summer, but under- 

 neath the tail and inside the legs it is white. There are also spotless, or indistinctly 

 spotted fallow deer, and entirely black ones, as well as all sorts of variations between 

 the black, white, and spotted phases. In summer the fallow deer is of a more 

 reddish colour, and the spots are more distinct; in winter it is greyer, and 

 nearly spotless. It has neither a mane nor longer hair at the neck, and all over 

 its body the hair is comparatively short and fine. It is, however, much more easily 

 distinguished by the shape of the antlers. The shaft, when fully grown, is, 

 as already said, cylindrical below, and palmate at the top, and has a brow-tine, 

 forming an obtuse angle, but there is no bez-tine, although beneath the palmation 

 there is a trez-tine. The palmation bears at its back three or more sharp snags, 

 the lowest of which is separated from the others, and a little longer. The spotted 

 coat of summer harmonises with the splashes of light and shade thrown by the 

 leaves of the trees beneath which these deer repose. In winter such a type of 

 colouring would be useless. 



In the fallow deer of Epping Forest there are none of the true fallow colour, 

 that is yellowish dun, nor are there any that are spotted with white, and no 

 spotted fawns have been noticed by the keepers, though spots on old and young 

 are distinguishable after death. Another peculiarity is the unusual narrowness 

 of the antlers, which are seldom more than 2 inches in width, the degeneration 

 being probably due to prolonged isolation and continued interbreeding. 



In habits of life the fallow deer closely resembles the red deer. It is, how- 

 ever, much less shy and cautious, fearlessly running about in open places in the 

 daytime, and not changing its haunts either so regularly or so often. It is 

 gregarious, and lives in large or small herds, which only during rutting-time, from 

 September to the beginning of winter, are accompanied by the bucks. 



