The photos below were captured at the Ecopark Fishing and Farm Stay venue in Luscombe, Queensland, Australia. The highlight for me was being able to hand feed the animals and interact with them up close.
This beautiful deer came right up to the fence after seeing the bag of hay in our hands. There was plenty of green grass and even a pile of hay nearby but he wanted our hay. I'm sure this friendly deer preferred to eat what we had to offer due to the fact that he simply enjoyed human contact.
Just look at that cute face and the gap between his teeth. Adorable! Absolutely adorable!
There are six species of deer in Australia; fallow (Cervus [Dama] dama), red or wapiti (Cervus elaphus); hog (Cervus [Axis] porcinus); chital, axis or spotted deer (Cervus [Axis] axis); Timor or rusa (Cervus timorensis) and sambar (Cervus unicolor). In addition to wapiti, fallow, sambar and rusa deer, white-tailed (Odocoileus virginianus) and sika (Cervus nippon) are also established in New Zealand.
All of the above mentioned were originally introduced by European settlers.
Red Deer:
The natural distribution of this deer species originates from northern Britain to Manchuria and from south of the Arctic Circle to the Himalayas and North Africa. They prefer to live where mixed grasses are available, in woodland areas and also near rainforests.
There are many free -ranging herds scattered throughout New Zealand especially where there is plenty of bush or scrub and farmlands. In Australia, they are mainly found near the headwaters of the Brisbane River in Queensland and also in the Grampian Ranges of Victoria. In Australia and New Zealand deer are domesticated for the purposes of producing venison.
Red Deer gravitate to undulating, grazing country which have adequate water sources close at hand. They like to feed on woody trees and shrubs, and a variety of grasses. They are very sociable animals and live in herds dominated by a single female. They are seasonal breeders and mate during the month of April. In summer the sexes separate, and this is when the females give birth to their offspring and the bulls become territorial during mating season.
The males and the females mature at 16 months, but the young males are reluctant to mate because of competition from the more mature males. The gestation period lasts for 8-9 months which produces a single offspring as twins are rare
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Fallow deer originate from the Mediterranean region and southern Iran. They are known as the world’s most naturalised animal (apart from rats and mice,) because of their ability to adapt to a wide variety of climatic conditions.
They are very common throughout the North and South Islands of New Zealand. And in Australia they are found in open woodland in areas of NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia but their numbers are more prolific in Tasmania. Fallow deer (like the red deer) have also been domesticated for the production of venison.
Out of all the deer species in Australia, only the males have antlers. Their social behaviour is a little unpredictable. Sometimes they gather in herds of up to 30 animals and again, they are generally dominated by a single female.
They can survive as individuals. Adult males are more likely to be solitary but can choose to join bachelor groups, of less than 6 animals. They will establish and defend small territories during the mating season and their gestation period is usually for 8 months, and they’ll generally produce a single fawn.
Females are sexually mature at the age of 16 months and will breed yearly after reaching maturity. Males take a month longer to mature but will not breed until they are 4 years old, mainly due to competition from dominant males.
The Fallow deer enjoy grazing a wide variety of grasses but they also like herbs and shrubs and in Australia, this includes banksias and wattles.
