Red Deer

deer · Europe · large animals · mammals

Massive and mighty. Red deer are among the biggest deer species in the world. Male red deer, called stags or harts, grow especially large and powerful, while females are called hinds.

Spread across continents. Red deer live naturally across most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains, parts of Western Asia, and Iran. They are also the only wild deer species in Africa, living in the Atlas Mountains of Northern Africa.

Travelers to new lands. Humans have brought red deer to Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and several South American countries like Peru, Chile, and Argentina, where they now live in the wild.

Food for people. For thousands of years, people have hunted red deer for their meat, called venison, which is still eaten in many parts of the world today.