344 



UNGULATES. 



Red Deer. 



a bez-tine, and a nearly cylindrical beam, splitting up into two or more points at the 

 summit. The tail is short, and the buttocks are marked by a light-coloured disc- 

 like patch, which includes the tail, while the rest of the hair is uniformly coloured. 

 All the members of the group are of large size, and their young are spotted. 



The red deer is characterised by the surroyals of the antlers of 

 the adult having at least three points, and thus forming a cup in the 

 middle of the crown ; the total number of points being not less than twelve. Such 

 a stag is called in Scotland a Royal Hart. The number of points in the crown may, 



however, be greatly increased, as shown in the 

 accompanying figure of an antler dug up many 

 years ago in an Irish bog. In the stag to which 

 this antler belonged, the total number of points, if 

 the two antlers were symmetrical, would have been 

 thirty ; but instances are recorded where there are 

 as many as forty-five and even sixty-six points. 

 The latter number must, however, be regarded as 

 abnormal. At the present day no Scotch stag ever 

 has antlers of the complexity of the one shown in 

 the woodcut, and it would indeed be very doubtful 

 if that specimen could even be matched among the 

 living deer of Eastern Europe, where the heads 

 are considerably finer than in Scotland. Such 

 antlers, and even larger ones, were, however, not 

 uncommon on the Continent a few centuries ago ; 

 many magnificent examples are preserved in some 

 of the old German castles, the collection at Moritz- 

 burg being especially rich. 



A fine specimen of the red deer will stand fully 

 4 feet at the shoulder. The hair on the throat forms a long fringe, most developed 

 in the pairing -season. During summer the general colour of the pelage is a 

 bright reddish brown, the head and legs being somewhat greyer, the throat pale 

 grey, and the patch on the buttocks yellowish white. In winter, when the fur 

 becomes longer and softer, the colour tends to a brownish grey. Wild stags are 

 occasionally found white ; the tendency to albinism increasing in the domesticated 

 state. A fine Scotch stag will weigh some 280 lbs. (20 stone), but they range up 

 to 420 lbs. (30 stone), and a stag was killed at Woburn, in 1836, which weighed 

 476 lbs. (34 stone) as it stood. These weights are, however, exceeded by the stags 

 of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. The large pair of antlers mentioned above 

 have a total length of 68 inches, and examples have been obtained from Eastern 

 Europe and Asia Minor, varying from 46 to 48| inches in length. The antlers of 

 Scotch and Irish stags rarely, however, exceed 33 inches, although some of the 

 latter may reach 35 inches. A Devonshire stag with antlers of over 38 inches 

 is on record. 



The red deer has a wide distribution in the temperate regions of 

 Europe and Asia, but its eastward extension in the latter continent is 

 not yet fully ascertained. Formerly it was probably found throughout the forest- 



THE EIGHT ANTLER OF A RED DEER, 

 FROM AN IRISH BOG. 



Distribution. 



