European Fallow Deer: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Deer and Pronghorn · day 1 of 7

Five facts

1. Fallow deer come in four main coat types, ranging from almost white to very dark brown, sometimes even black.
2. Only males grow antlers. For their first two years these are single spikes, then from age three they become broad and shovel-shaped.
3. When danger strikes, it can sprint at up to 50 km/h over short distances and leap 1.75 m high or 5 m long.
4. On the Swedish island of Öland, King Charles X Gustav had a stone wall about 4 km long built to hold a royal herd. It was still there in 2006.
5. At the harbour entrance of Rhodes in Greece, statues of a male and a female fallow deer stand where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood.

The quiz

1. How many main coat types does the fallow deer have?

• Two
• Six
• Ten
• Four (correct)

There are four main variants, from almost white to black.

2. What do a buck's antlers look like from age three?

• Twisted like corkscrews
• Broad and shovel-shaped (correct)
• Short round bumps
• Curved back like a goat's horns

From three years old, the antlers are broad and shovel-shaped.

3. How high can a fallow deer jump?

• Up to 1.75 m (correct)
• Up to 50 cm
• Up to 6 m
• Up to 15 m

It can leap up to 1.75 m high and 5 m long.

4. What did a Swedish king build for a royal herd of fallow deer?

• A deer castle
• A wooden bridge
• A stone wall about 4 km long (correct)
• A watchtower

Charles X Gustav had a 4 km dry stone wall put up on Öland.

5. Where do the fallow deer statues of Rhodes stand?

• On a mountain top
• Where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood (correct)
• Inside a royal palace
• In the middle of a forest

They stand at the harbour entrance, on the site of the Colossus.

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