Fallow Deer
Dama dama
Print fact sheet (PDF)
The only British deer with flattened, palmate antlers — brought here for parkland, and long since out.
A medium-large deer, most often tan with bold white spots and a black-bordered white rump, though colour varies enormously from near-white to almost black. Mature bucks are unmistakable: their antlers broaden into flattened, hand-like palms, unique among British deer. Fallow were introduced by the Normans for parks and hunting and now live wild in woodland and farmland across parts of the region.
Behaviour
Fallow are more sociable than roe, living in herds that are usually segregated by sex outside the rut. In October bucks establish a rutting stand, thrash vegetation, scrape the ground and give a deep, repeated belching groan to attract does. They graze and browse, and can do significant damage to woodland regeneration where numbers are high. Fawns are born in June and lie hidden in long vegetation.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Deer (Cervidae)
- Size
- Shoulder height 84–94 cm · bucks have flattened palmate antlers
- UK status
- Long-established introduction; widespread, with close seasons set in law
Photo by Johann-Nikolaus Andreae, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons