Red deer – also known as elk – live in expansive, open woodlands but have settled in nearly all European habitats, from sea level up to the Alps, from low-lying wetlands to lofty heights. The red deer is the largest mammal of the Danube wetlands and is more powerful here than in any other habitat.
Description
Nose-to-tail length 160-250 cm; tail 12-15 cm; weight 95-300 kg; shoulder height 100-150 cm; life span of 7-20 years; reddish-brown in the summer and greyish brown in the winter; juveniles brown with white spots. Able runners who flee, not hide, when threatened.
Distribution
Europe, northern Africa and Asia, from tundra and Himalayas to the Kamtschatka Peninsula.
Endangerment and Conservation Status
The Donau-Auen National Park management plan stipulates that in view of sustained conservation of this species, the already significantly isolated population should maintain at least 600 individuals across the entire range (approx. 50,000 ha).
Endangerment and Conservation Status
The Donau-Auen National Park management plan stipulates that in view of sustained conservation of this species, the already significantly isolated population should maintain at least 600 individuals across the entire range (approx. 50,000 ha).
Behaviour
Red deer are not especially picky eaters and forage widely. As a ruminant animal, red deer can also nourish themselves with feed such as grass, tree bark, leaves and acorns. A herd consists of females (cows, does) and young animals (calves). Bulls (especially older animals) may live outside the herd or in "bachelor" herds. During the rutting season from the end of August until October, the bull marks his territory by emitting loud bugle calls and defends it in battles with other rivals. Antler racks may get stuck during such clashes. Yet although the antler tips may be dangerous, serious injuries are rarely caused during such jousts. Calves (normally only one per cow) are born in May or June and are completely dependent on the cow. Calves are nursed for around four months and become self-sufficient after one year. Red deer are good swimmers and are able to survive wetlands floods effortlessly. They love to wallow in the mud. They are active mainly at night, dusk and dawn.
Special Characteristics
Starting in March, antlers of the red deer are covered by a special soft skin called velvet. In July or August the velvet dies off and is shed. The dead, bare bone is then fully developed and may weigh up to 14 kg and have 10 or more tines. In February antlers are cast off from a predetermined breaking point called the pedicle, after which new antlers begin to grow immediately. Bulls and cows have only lower incisors. These are used to strip plants which are then pressed against a plate on the upper jaw. Like all ruminants they are able to consume large amounts of plants very quickly. These are stored in the first stomach chamber, the "paunch", or rumen. After bacteria have gone to work breaking down the plant material, the "cud" is regurgitated, chewed, swallowed again, and then digested.
In former times, red deer roamed widely from the Danube wetlands all the way to the Weinviertel ("Wine Quarter") and the Leitha mountains, thereby stoking the gene pool of the population. Today, highways (East Autobahn), agricultural operations and residential development block these paths. In the National Park, red deer populations are regulated by controlled hunting of cows and young calves to prevent overpopulation and the subsequent endangerment of natural wetlands populations.