There are deer and there are deer, but do you know the differences between them? The truth is that, to an untrained eye, it might seem that they are the same animal, since it is very easy to confuse them.
Both are mammals, they have crests and fur in earth tones, is it the same animal, then, or are they different species? If you want to know the difference between deer and deer, then you can't miss this article on our site. Keep reading!
The deer family
Deer and stags are mammals belonging to the cervid family and share many external characteristics: thin and long legs, hooves slightly separated by two fingers and short brown fur that makes them look very similar. As if that were not enough, both are ruminants, which means that once the food is eaten, they regurgitate it to add saliva and eat it again. This process is known as rumination.
You may be surprised, but both deer and deer are the same animal. The main difference between them is the different terms used to refer to some of the different species that exist worldwide.
“Cervidae” is used to name one of the deer families, the word comes from the Latin cervus and encompasses different animals, such as the elk and the elk. Deer, on the other hand, comes from the Latin venatus and is a term commonly used in some parts of the world, such as Latin America, to refer to the species of the genus Odocoileus, and this genus includes the deer or white-tailed deer. For this reason, when referring to the deer or the deer, we are making reference to a family and not to a species, since both terms are used to name the same animal.
Now that you know that there is no difference between deer and deer, you should know that there are several species of deer or deer, as you prefer call them. Do you want to know some of them? Here we present them to you!
1. I raised
The moose (Alces alces) is the world's largest deer and can be found in the forests of Europe and Asia. Only the males of this species have broad, webbed antlers, which occasionally have points.
They are very robust animals and their fur is brown in different shades. It can weigh an impressive 500 kilos.
two. Roe deer
The roe deer, or Capreolus capreolus, is found in the forests of Europe. It has antlers like the moose, although they have a totally different shape, and it sheds them once a year. The fur is similar to that of most of the animals of this species, it appears in brown tones with reddish areas, however, once winter has arrived, the mantle changes to grayish colors.
One of the peculiarities that differentiate the roe deer is that it makes certain sounds to communicate that are very similar to the barking of dogs.
3. White-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has brown fur accompanied by a white spot on its tail, a characteristic that gives it your name. It has very small ears and males differ from females by the appearance of antlers and their size.
The white-tailed deer inhabits some South American countries, where unfortunately it is at risk of extinction due to poaching and the destruction of its habitat.
4. Taruca
The taruca (Hippocamelus antisensis) or Andean deer, is found in Latin American lands, where it lives in rocky areas with scarce vegetation. It has gray or yellowish fur with black markings around its face and long ears.
The taruca travels in groups of up to 15 individuals of different ages and feeds on grasses, shrubs, succulents and mosses.
5. Marsh Deer
The marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) is a mammal that has a black tone on its legs and snout. It has some special hooves that make it easier for it to swim and move through marshy surfaces, a characteristic that it has acquired over time thanks to evolution.
Unlike others of its kind, the swamp deer do not grow very large, only reaching a scant 60 centimeters in lengthand weigh up to 150 kilos.
6. Red Deer
The red deer (Cervus elaphus) is the common deer that comes to mind when we hear the word "deer" or " deer". It lives in different areas of the European continent, measures about two meters in length and can weigh up to 200 kg. It is characterized by its sexual dimorphism, in which the males have large antlers while the females do not have any.
As you have been able to observe, deer and deer have many differences, but at the same time many similarities, because they belong to the same family of ruminants. More than 50 subspecies are derived from this family, each with its own characteristics and differences.
