(Cervus elaphus)

Adult size - stags 90 -190kg, 107 -137cm at shoulder. Females (hinds) 63 -120kg, up to 107 -122cm at shoulder. Deer on the open hill in Scotland are smaller than those in lowland English woodland.
Antlers - highly branched. The number of branches increases with age. Up to 16 points in native animals.
Life -span - exceptionally up to 18 years in the wild.
UK distribution - Native stock common in the Scottish Highlands, Dumfriesshire, Lake District, East Anglia and the south -west of England. Feral stock present in the north of England, north Midlands, East Anglia, the New Forest and Sussex.
Food & feeding - grazers of grasses, and dwarf shrubs e.g. heather and bilberry. Woody browse, e.g. tree shoots, is taken when other food is limiting e.g. during winter.
Habitat - within its range in England and southern Scotland occurs in woodlands and forests but can adapt to open moor and hill on Scottish hills and south -west England.
Social organisation - In woodlands red deer are largely solitary or occur as mother and calf groups. On open ground, larger, single sex groups assemble, only mixing during the rut and in the Highlands of Scotland large groups may persist for most of the year.