Red Deer

Common Name: Red Deer

Family Name: Cervidae

Status: Introduced, Not Protected

Scientific Name: Curvus Elaphus

Shoulder Height: 1.2m

Weight: 150kg

Lifespan: 13 years

Gestation: 235 days

Young: 1 per year

Weaned: (pre-rut) 3 to 4 months, (post-rut) 7 - 8 months​

Background: Red deer are from Mediterranean Europe​.

Breeding: Red deer have distinct breeding seasons and give birth during the spring.

Impacts: Agricultural production by eating pasture, crops and forestry saplings and damaging fences and infrastructure. Autumn marks the ‘rut’ or breeding season for feral deer, bringing increased risks to people, livestock, and the environment. During this time, male deer (bucks) become highly aggressive as they search for mates. They clash with rivals, damage trees, churn up paddocks, and wallow in waterways, causing serious environmental degradation. They can also potentially carry foot-and-mouth disease and parasites that can be transmitted to livestock and can also pose a risk to human health through zoonotic diseases like leptospirosis.​

Red deer range from Queensland south through New South Wales into Victoria and across to South Australia, with numbers increasing.

Feral deer information.

Feral deer locations.

Report feral deer sightings using the online FeralScan App​​​.

A field guide identifying feral deer.