Red Deer - Pictures

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Red Deer - Diet

Red Deer feed on grasses, sedges, rushes, buds, shoots, and leaves. Since they are ruminants, Red deer tend to store partly chewed food, regurgitate this cud later and thoroughly re chew it. Thus, Red deer process a large amount of low nutrient food. Dandelions, violets, aster, hawkweed, clover, and the occasional mushroom are the Red deer's favorites.

Red Deer - Antlers

Only males grow antlers. Antlers start developing at about 10 months of age. They are shed annually in March or April. With age, antlers become more branched. Stags over two years old begin to grow antlers that branch.

Antlers are made of solid bone. When the antlers have reached full size, the blood supply to the velvet is cut off and the velvet skin dies. The animal rubs the velvet off against trees, and eats it. The size of the antlers is connected to the quality of the stag's diet.

Antlers living in forests possess larger antlers than those inhabiting moorland. Stags that do not get all the necessary minerals and vitamins from their food possess stunted antlers. Red deer and other mammals chew shed antlers frequently. They are claimed to provide a source of phosphorous and calcium for the mammals. A dominant stag may have 18-20 points on his antlers, although 14-16 points are more common in Red deer.

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