roe deer, small, short-horned deer, Capreolus capreolus, of Britain and Europe and as far east as China and Siberia. Its coat is golden red in summer, darkening to brown or even black in winter, with lighter undersides and a white rump patch. It stands from 26 to 30 in. (66-76.2 cm) at the shoulder and has small three-pronged horns. Roe deer are widely distributed in woods near fields and wooded valleys. They are nocturnal animals, traveling alone or in families and browsing on grass, leaves, and young shoots. The polygamous males fight over territory in early summer and rut in early fall. Females give birth the following June, usually to two spotted kids of opposite sexes. Roe deer often leave behind in the forest trampled areas in the shape of a figure-eight. Called roe rings, they are made during courtship rituals when the male chases the female, and also by the young at play. Roe deer are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae.

red deer: see wapiti.

musk deer, small, antlerless deer, Moschus moschiferus, found in wet mountain forests from Siberia and Korea to the Himalayas. In summer it ranges up to 8,000 ft (2,400 m). It is from 20 to 24 in. (50-60 cm) high at the shoulder, with a brown coat, a pointed face, and large ears. The male has tusklike upper canine teeth curving down and backwards from the sides of the mouth, and a musk gland, called the pod, in the skin of the abdomen. Destruction of the animal for musk, which is used in perfume, has greatly reduced its numbers, and it has been exterminated in part of its range. It is classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae.

mouse deer: see chevrotain.

deer, ruminant mammal of the family Cervidae, found in most parts of the world except Australia. Antlers, solid bony outgrowths of the skull, develop in the males of most species and are shed and renewed annually. They are at first covered by "velvet," a soft, hairy skin permeated by blood vessels. The stem of the antler is called the beam, and the branches are the tines. Antlers are used as weapons during breeding-season combats between bucks. In deer that lack antlers (the musk deer and Chinese river deer), long upper canines serve as weapons. Deer are polygamous. They eat a variety of herbaceous plants, lichens, mosses, and tree leaves and bark.

The white-tailed deer that live in woodlands throughout the United States and in Central America and N South America was a source of food, buckskin, and other necessities for Native Americans and white settlers. Deer flesh, called venison, is still considered a delicacy. Slaughter through the years nearly exterminated the whitetail, but it is now restored in large numbers in the E United States and to a lesser extent in the West. In summer its upper parts are reddish brown, in winter grayish. The mule deer exists in reduced numbers from the Plains region westward, and the closely related black-tailed deer is a Pacific coast form.

Old World deer include the red deer, closely related to the North American wapiti, the fallow deer, and the axis deer. The only deer in Africa are small numbers of red deer found in the north in a forested area. The barking deer, or muntjac, is a small deer of S Asia. A muntjac discovered in N Myanmar (formerly Burma) in 1997 is believed to be the smallest deer in the world. Called the leaf deer, Muntiacus putaoensis, it stands about 20 in. (45 cm) at the shoulder. The misleadingly named mouse deer, or chevrotain, is not a deer, but belongs to a related family (Tragulidae). Many species of deer are threatened with extinction. Deer are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae.

See also caribou; elk; moose; Père David's deer; reindeer.

Red Deer, city (1991 pop. 58,134), S central Alta., Canada, on the Red Deer River. It developed as a trade and service center for a region of dairying and mixed farming. The discovery of oil and natural gas after World War II lead to the growth of Red Deer's petroleum service industry, as well as the steady growth of the city itself. Red Deer is also in the center of a resort area that includes Sylvan Lake and Gaetz Lake.

Red Deer, river, 385 mi (620 km) long, rising in the Rocky Mts. in Banff National Park, SW Alta., Canada, and flowing NE past Red Deer city, then SE and E across the plains to the South Saskatchewan River just over the Saskatchewan border.

Père David's deer, Asian deer, Elaphurus davidianus, known only in a semidomesticated state. It has a bulky, donkeylike body, reaching a shoulder height of nearly 4 ft (120 cm), with a tufted tail longer than that of any other deer. It is tawny red with white underparts and a white ring around each eye. Its hooves are very broad. It has curious antlers, with irregularly branching front prongs and usually straight posterior prongs. The antlers may reach 3 ft (90 cm) in length. E. davidianus came to the attention of Westerners in 1865, when it was observed by the missionary Père Armand David in the gardens of the Chinese emperor, near Beijing. Several specimens were sent to Europe, where they flourished in captivity; those remaining in China all perished during the Boxer Uprising. After World War II, breeding stock from England was distributed to the world's zoos, and in 1960 the species was reestablished in China. The natural habitat of this deer is unknown, but it is believed to have inhabited the swampy plains of China until it was displaced by agriculture. It is classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Cervidae.

Deer Park. 1 Uninc. village (1990 pop. 28,840), Babylon town, Suffolk co., SE N.Y., a primarily residential suburb on Long Island. 2 City (1990 pop. 27,652), Harris co., SE Tex., a growing industrial and residential suburb of Houston, with refineries and plastics manufacturers.

Brown Deer, village (1990 pop. 12,236), Milwaukee co., SE Wis., on the Milwaukee River; inc. 1955. It is a residential suburb N of Milwaukee; consumer goods and machinery are manufactured.

or Virginia deer

Common reddish brown deer (Odocoileus virginianus), an important game animal found alone or in small groups from southern Canada to South America. The tail, white on the underside, is held aloft when the deer is alarmed or running. The male has forwardly curved antlers with several unbranched tines. Northern white-tailed deer grow up to 3.5 ft (107 cm) tall and weigh up to 400 lbs (180 kg). The white-tailed deer lives in open woodlands (young and cutover forests) and on the fringes of urban areas and farmlands, and eats leaves, twigs, fruits, nuts, lichen, and fungi.

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Almost tailless Eurasian deer (Capreolus capreolus), found in small family groups in lightly forested regions. It stands 26–34 in. (66–86 cm) at the shoulder. Its coat is reddish brown in summer and grayish brown, with a conspicuous white rump patch, in winter. The male has short, usually three-tined antlers roughened at the base. When alarmed, the deer barks like a dog.

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Species of deer (Cervus elaphus), sometimes called elk, native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It is found in woodlands and hunted for sport and food. Red deer live in sexually segregated herds except in the breeding season, when males (harts) fight for harems of females (hinds). Red deer stand about 4 ft (1.2 m) high at the shoulder. The coat is reddish brown, with lighter underparts and a light rump. The hart has long, regularly branched antlers bearing 10 or more tines. There are several endangered subspecies. Seealso wapiti.

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Large-eared deer (Odocoileus hemionus) of western North America that lives alone or in small groups at high altitudes in summer and lower altitudes in winter. Mule deer stand 3–3.5 ft (90–105 cm) and are yellowish brown in summer, grayish brown in winter. The tail is white with a black tip, except on the black-tailed deer (O. h. columbianus), a Pacific Northwest subspecies. The male's antlers fork twice above a short tine near the base; a mature male normally has five tines on each antler. It is related to the white-tailed deer.

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or mouse deer

Any of several species (family Tragulidae) of small, delicately built ruminants of Asia and Africa. Resembling tiny deer, chevrotains stand about 12 in. (30 cm) at the shoulder and seem to walk on their hooftips. Their fur is reddish brown with spots and pale stripes. Males have small, curved tusks protruding downward from the upper jaw. Shy and solitary, they are active at night. Asiatic chevrotains are found in forests from India to the Philippines. The water chevrotain of western equatorial Africa inhabits thick cover on the banks of rivers and seeks escape in the water when disturbed.

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or white-footed mouse

Any of about 60 species (genus Peromyscus, family Cricetidae) of small, delicate rodents that are active at night and are found in habitats from Alaska to South America. They often outnumber all other mammals in an area. Deer mice are 3–6.5 in. (8–17 cm) long (excluding the long tail) and have large eyes, soft fur, and relatively large ears. Colours range from white to brown or blackish, with white underparts and feet. They eat plant and animal matter and nest in burrows or trees. Clean, easily cared for, and prolific, they are often used as laboratory animals.

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Any of the ruminants in the family Cervidae, which have two large and two small hooves on each foot and antlers on the males of most species and on the females of some species. Deer live mainly in forests but may be found in deserts, tundra, and swamps and on high mountainsides. They are native to Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and northern Africa and have been introduced widely elsewhere. Females are usually called does, and males bucks. Deer range in shoulder height from the 12-in. (30-cm) pudu (genus Pudu) to the 6.5-ft (2-m) moose. They typically have a compact body, short tail, and long, slender ears. They shed their antlers each year, and new ones grow in. The general form of the antler varies among species. Deer feed on grass, twigs, bark, and shoots. They are hunted for their meat, hides, and antlers. Seealso caribou, elk, mule deer, muntjac, red deer, roe deer, white-tailed deer.

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or barking deer

Any of about seven species of solitary, nocturnal deer, native to Asia and introduced into England and France, that constitute the genus Muntiacus (family Cervidae). Named for their cry, most species stand 15–25 in. (40–65 cm) high, weigh 33–77 lbs (15–35 kg), and are grayish, reddish, or brown. Males have tusklike upper canine teeth and short one-branched antlers. Bony ridges extend from the antler base onto the face. The giant muntjac (88–110 lbs, or 40–50 kg) was discovered in northern Vietnam in 1993–94. Fea's muntjac (M. feae), of Myanmar and Thailand, is endangered, and other muntjac species are threatened.

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