The following is a brief overview of some of the easier-to-generalise aspects of deer natural history. Please select a subject from the right-hand menu. For species-specific information, the reader is directed to the individual species profiles which can be accessed from the main deer menu page or the links below. Each species resident in the UK has their own section, starting with an overview ("Speed Read") of their biology and ecology. Some species have a more detailed review of their natural history accessible via the subject links on the right-hand side of the Speed Read. Please be aware that this part of the site is still a work in progress, and while all species have a Speed Read overview, most of the detailed articles are yet to be written. Links will be activated against the Speed Reads as the new content comes online, so please check back.
There are five species of deer wild living in the UK: Red (Cervus elaphus); Fallow (Dama dama); Roe (Capreolus capreolus), Japanese sika (Cervus nippon); Reeves’ muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi); and Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis). Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) range freely in parts of the Cairngorms in Scotland, but are part of a privately owned herd.
Bibliography
Muntjac and Water Deer: Natural History, Environmental Impact and Management - by Arnold Cooke
Pelagic Publishing
-- 2019
-- ISBN: 978-1784271909
Gardens and Deer: A guide to damage limitation - by Charles Coles
Swan-Hill Press
-- 1997
-- ISBN: 978-1853109652
Deer: Law & Liabilities (2nd Edition) - by Charlie Parkes; John Thornley
Quiller
-- 2008
-- ISBN: 978-1846890475
The Darkness is Light Enough: The field journal of a night naturalist - by Chris Ferris
Sphere Books Ltd.
-- 1986
-- ISBN: 978-0718126902
The Encyclopaedia of Mammals - by David MacDonald (ed.)
Brown Reference Group
-- 2006
-- ISBN: 978-0199206087
Collins Field Guide: Mammals of Britain and Europe - by David MacDonald and Priscilla Barrett
HarperCollins Publishers
-- 1993
-- ISBN: 978-0002197793
Urban Mammals: A Concise Guide - by David Wembridge
Whittet Books
-- 2012
-- ISBN: 978-1873580851
Wild Animals of Britain & Europe - by Helga Hofmann
HarperCollins Publishers
-- 1995
-- ISBN: 978-0007627271
Kia – A Study of Red Deer - by Ian Alcock
Swan-Hill Press
-- 1999
-- ISBN: 978-1840370317
Deer - by John Fletcher
Reakton Books
-- 2014
-- ISBN: 978-1780230887
A Life for Deer: A deer vet tells their story and his - by John Fletcher
Victor Gollancz Books
-- 2000
-- ISBN: 978-0575070905
Mind the Gap: Postglacial colonization of Ireland - by John L. Davenport, David P. Sleeman & Peter C. Woodman (eds)
Irish Naturalists' Journal
-- 2008
A Highland Deer Herd and its Habitat - by Jos Milner; Jim Alexander; Cy Griffin
Red Lion House
-- 2002
-- ISBN: 978-0951263150
Highland Deer Forest - by Lea MacNally
J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
-- 1970
-- ISBN: 978-0330234665
Britain’s Mammals 2018: The Mammal Society’s Guide to their Population & Conservation Status - by Multiple Contributors
The Mammal Society
-- 2020
-- ISBN: 978-0993567339
Atlas of the Mammals of Great Britain & Northern Ireland - by Multiple Contributors
Pelagic Publishing
-- 2020
-- ISBN: 978-1784272043
The Wildlife Trust’s Handbook of Garden Wildlife - by Nicholas Hammond
Bloomsbury Natural History
-- 2014
-- ISBN: 978-1472915863
Nick Baker’s British Wildlife: A month by month guide - by Nick Baker
New Holland Publishers
-- 2003
-- ISBN: 978-1845171131
The New Amateur Naturalist - by Nick Baker
HarperCollins Publishers
-- 2004
-- ISBN: 978-0007157310
Deer - by Norma Chapman
Whittet Books
-- 1991
-- ISBN: 978-1873580356
The Deer of Great Britain & Ireland: An account of their history, status and distribution - by Peter Carne
G. Kenneth Whitehead
-- 1964
-- ISBN: None
Deer of Britain and Ireland: Their origins and distribution - by Peter Carne
Swan-Hill Press
-- 2000
-- ISBN: 978-1840370911
Urban Wildlife - by Peter Shirley
Whittet Books
-- 1996
-- ISBN: 978-1873580233
Deer - by Raymond Chaplin
Blandford Press
-- 1977
-- ISBN: 978-0713707960
The Watcher and the Red Deer - by Richard Perry
The Country Book Club
-- 1972
-- ISBN: 978-0715353851
Deer Watch: A Field Guide (Revised Edition) - by Richard Prior
Swan-Hill Press
-- 2007
-- ISBN: 978-1846890130
Living with Deer - by Richard Prior
Andre Deusch
-- 1965
-- ISBN: 978-0727401175
Grazing in Temperate Ecosystems: Large Herbivores and the Ecology of the New Forest - by Rod Putman
Croom Helm
-- 1986
-- ISBN: 978-0881920710
Silent Fields: The long decline of a nation’s wildlife - by Roger Lovegrove
Oxford Univesrity Press
-- 2007
-- ISBN: 978-0199548156
The Natural History of Deer - by Rory Putman
Christopher Helm
-- 1988
-- ISBN: 978-0801422836
Simon King’s Wildguide - by Simon King
BBC Books
-- 1994
-- ISBN: 978-0563364962
Fauna Britannica - by Stefan Buczacki
Hamlyn Publishing
-- 2002
-- ISBN: 978-0600598671
Mammals of the British Isles: Handbook, 4th Edition - by Stephen Harris and Derek Yalden (eds)
The Mammal Society
-- 2008
-- ISBN: 978-0906282656
The natural history "bible" covering all British mammals with detailed coverage of their biology, behaviour, ecology and taxonomy written by experts in the field and referenced to the primary literature.
The British Mammal Guide - by Steve Evans & Paul Wetton
Isabelline Films
-- 2015
-- ISBN: N/A
UK Mammals: Species Status & Population Trends - by The Tracking Mammals Partnership
JNCC/TMP
-- 2005
-- ISBN: 978-1861075680
Red Deer: Behaviour and Ecology of Two Sexes - by Tim Clutton-Brock; Fiona Guinness; Steve Albon
Edinburgh University Press
-- 1982
-- ISBN: 978-0226110578
Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behavior, and Ecology - by Valerius Geist
Stackpole Books
-- 1998
-- ISBN: 978-0811704960
Scottish Red Deer and their Conservation - by Victor Lowe
Hayloft Publishing
-- 2014
-- ISBN: 978-1904524939
The Story of a Red-Deer - by William Fortescue
MacMillian and Co.
-- 1897
-- ISBN: 978-1507576755