Fallow Deer – Dama dama
Identification
Medium-sized deer. Nearly always seen moving together in herds. Coat colour varies greatly, even in same herd. Typical coat is brown with white spots in summer and lighter brown with white spots in winter. Individuals may be white or near black. Longer tail than other deer, constantly twitching. Rump is white with black margins either side, and black stripe down the tail, giving appearance of the number 111. Fully grown males have large, broad, flattened antlers.
Field Signs
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Footprints: Fallow deer have very similar footprints to the sika deer. They are one of largest footprints of all deer species. Width of female footprints up to 4cm and the length 6cm. They can be easily confused with sheep and goat footprints.
Droppings: Deer droppings do not have obvious coloration or smell. The droppings tend to be of a similar shape across all species.
Tail: The fallow deer tail has heart shaped white markings with an upside down horseshoe shaped black border and a long black tail.
Confusion species
Red deer (Cervus elaphus)
Buff coloured rump with ginger buff tail. Fallow has a white rump with a black horseshoe-shaped border and a long black tail (giving the appearance of the number 111). Typical fallow coat has spots all year round (although coats can vary greatly in fallow), no spots on red deer. Large, branched antlers in red, not palmate (broad and flattened) as in fallow deer.
Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)
Plain cream/white rump with no visible tail, unlike white rump of fallow which has a black horseshoe-shaped border and a black tail (giving appearance of the number 111). No distinctive spots on coat, whilst typical fallow has spots all year round (although fallow coat can vary greatly). Small, branched antlers in mature roe male, with usually no more than 3 points, not large and palmate (broad and flattened) as in fallow. Roe has a distinctive black nose and white chin.
Sika deer (Cervus nippon)
Both sika and fallow have a white heart-shaped rump but sika has a black upper border, unlike the horseshoe shaped border surrounding the fallow’s rump. Fallow has a longer black tail, sika has a white tail with a vertical black streak. Sika only has spots in the summer whilst fallow coat varies greatly but typically has white spots all year round. Sika has pointed antlers, not palmate (broad and flattened) as in fallow.