---
title: "What the sources say about the Red Deer | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "46 claims from the Red Deer profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/red-deer-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/red-deer/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Red Deer (*Cervus elaphus*)

> 46 claims from the Red Deer profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Red Deer](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/red-deer/)

## Stay away from rutting deer, Royal Parks urges visitors. The Royal Parks, 2023.

https://www.royalparks.org.uk/get-in-touch/media-centre/news-press-releases/stay-away-rutting-deer-royal-parks-urges-visitors

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| dangerLevel: High | visitors need to be extremely vigilant, otherwise they could risk severe injury (note: #1046; capability reading as for the elk (#998). Richmond and Bushy Park rutting deer, 20 September 2023; the release names no species, and the stags it describes 'can weigh over 25 stone') |

## Red deer. British Deer Society.

https://bds.org.uk/information-advice/about-deer/deer-species/red-deer/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| the UK's largest land mammal | The red deer is Britain’s largest land mammal. |
| A stag, as males are called, weighs 90 to 190 kg and stands 1.07 to 1.37 m tall at the shoulder. | fully grown males (stags) weigh between 90 to 190kg and stand at around 1.07 to 1.37m tall at the shoulder. |
| A hind, the female, weighs 63 to 120 kg. | Females (hinds) weigh 63 to 120kg |
| The species ranges across most of Europe, the Caucasus, Asia Minor and Iran, and into the Atlas Mountains of north-west Africa. | Red deer inhabit most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, Iran, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. They also inhabit the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa. (note: task #1102: "central Asia" cut; the 2025 assessment (Mattioli et al.) follows a split and its page cannot be read by script, so the range names only what every source agrees on) |
| In England and southern Scotland it prefers woodland, but it can adapt to open moor and hills. | While preferring woodland and forest habitats in England and southern Scotland, red deer can adapt to open moor and hills |
| From late September to November comes the rut, the mating season. | The breeding season, or the rut, occurs from the end of September to November. |
| Stags roar and walk side by side to show dominance. | engaging in elaborate displays of dominance including roaring, parallel walks, and fighting. |
| Serious injury and death can result from fighting, but this only occurs between stags of similar size that cannot assess dominance by any of the other means. | Serious injury and death can result from fighting but this only occurs between stags of similar size that cannot assess dominance by any of the other means. |
| They bark when alarmed and moo when searching for their young. | Hinds bark when alarmed and moo when searching for their young. |
| After an eight-month pregnancy, a hind in woodland gives birth to a single calf between mid-May and mid-July. | In woodland populations, hinds over one year old give birth to a single calf after an eight-month gestation, between mid-May to mid-July. |
| Cave art in Europe shows them. | Red deer are widely depicted in cave art found throughout European caves (note: task #1102: the 40,000-year date rested on a deer society page, not an archaeological source, and was cut) |
| a stag of up to 190 kg that regrows its antlers each year and roars through the autumn rut | fully grown males (stags) weigh between 90 to 190kg |
| Deer on open upland ground tend to be smaller than deer in lowland woods. | Deer living in open upland habitats tend to be smaller than those living in more wooded lowland areas. |
| He drops them each year in March or April. By August or September a full new set has grown back. | Antlers are cast during March/April and begin to regrow to be fully formed and clear of velvet in August/September. |
| A fully grown male tips the scales at 90 to 190 kg, with a shoulder height of around 1.07 to 1.37 m | fully grown males (stags) weigh between 90 to 190kg and stand at around 1.07 to 1.37m tall at the shoulder. |
| females come in at 63 to 120 kg | Females (hinds) weigh 63 to 120kg |
| Woodland, open moor and hills across Europe, the Caucasus, Asia Minor, Iran, plus the Atlas Mountains of north-west Africa | Red deer inhabit most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, Iran, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. They also inhabit the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa. (note: task #1102: "central Asia" cut; the 2025 assessment (Mattioli et al.) follows a split and its page cannot be read by script, so the range names only what every source agrees on) |
| Red deer are old neighbours of people. | They were used extensively by Mesolithic man as a source of food, skins, and tools (bones and antlers). |
| In rich woodland, stags can be sexually mature before they turn two, but only stags over five years old tend to mate. | Despite being sexually mature before their second birthday in productive woodland populations, only stags over five years old tend to mate. |
| stags roar and walk side by side to assess dominance | elaborate displays of dominance including roaring, parallel walks, and fighting |
| fighting only occurs between stags of similar size that cannot settle it any other way | this only occurs between stags of similar size that cannot assess dominance by any of the other means |

## Red deer. Woodland Trust.

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/animals/mammals/red-deer/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Red deer in woods are bigger than deer in open country, because the food in woods is better. | Deer in woodland are bigger than those in more open habitats because of the higher quality of food  available. |
| A stag's antlers start with just two points and add branches as he ages, up to 16 in most cases. | Starting with just two points, the antlers steadily develop more branches, reaching up to 16 in most cases. |
| they lock antlers and push and twist until the weaker one flees | the two will fight, locking antlers and pushing and twisting until the weaker of the two flees. |
| Grass is the main food, along with sedges, rushes, herbs, shrubs and tree shoots. | Grasses are the primary food of red deer, but they will eat a range of plants, including tree shoots, sedges and rushes, herbs and shrubs. |
| Adults in Britain have no natural predators. Foxes and golden eagles may take young calves | Predators: adults no longer have natural predators; foxes and golden eagles may take young |
| which are born with a spotted coat as camouflage | Calves are born with a spotted coat to provide camouflage from predators. |
| Stags roar during the autumn rut to compete with other males. | Red deer stags roar during the rut to compete with other males. |
| They also thrash vegetation to scare off rivals | Stags will roar loudly and thrash vegetation to intimidate rivals. |
| Stags carry antlers, and hinds do not. | Females (hinds) lack antlers and are more lightly built than males. |
| regrows its antlers each year | These antlers are shed and regrown every year. |
| A newborn calf's spotted coat is camouflage, and for its first few months it is left hidden in vegetation. | Calves are born with a spotted coat to provide camouflage from predators. For the first few months of their life, they are left hidden in vegetation |
| If a rival is not put off, the pair fight with antlers locked until the weaker stag runs. | If another stag is undeterred, the two will fight, locking antlers and pushing and twisting until the weaker of the two flees. |
| When two evenly matched stags will not give way, they lock antlers and push and twist until the weaker one flees. | If another stag is undeterred, the two will fight, locking antlers and pushing and twisting until the weaker of the two flees. |
| grown red deer there no longer have natural predators | adults no longer have natural predators |
| The risk falls on the young, which foxes and golden eagles may take. | foxes and golden eagles may take young |
| Grasses, sedges, rushes, tree shoots, herbs and shrubs | Grasses are the primary food of red deer, but they will eat a range of plants, including tree shoots, sedges and rushes, herbs and shrubs. |
| Stags that roar through the autumn rut | Red deer stags roar during the rut to compete with other males. |
| regrow a full set of antlers each year | These antlers are shed and regrown every year. |

## AnAge entry for Cervus elaphus. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Cervus_elaphus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Wild red deer average 10 to 11 years, and captive ones live about as long. | Average lifespan in captivity is similar to what is observed in wild populations (10-11 years) |
| One captive animal reached about 31.5 years. | One captive specimen was about 31.5 years of age when it died |
| In wild populations the average is 10 to 11 years, and captive deer average about the same. | Average lifespan in captivity is similar to what is observed in wild populations (10-11 years) |
| one captive deer that was about 31.5 years old when it died | One captive specimen was about 31.5 years of age when it died |

## Mattioli (2025). Cervus elaphus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T55997072A211074984.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2025-1.rlts.t55997072a211074984.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN rates the species Least Concern. | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |