Fallow Deer Fawn

Fallow Deer - Dama dama

The Fallow Deer (Dama dama) is a ruminant mammal of the deer family (Cervidae). Fallow Deer Fawns are born in the spring. The Fallow Deer life span is approximately 12 years.

The Fallow Deer species is very color variable, with four main variants, "common", "menil", "melanistic" and "albinistic". The common form of Fallow Deer has a brown coat with white mottles, most pronounced in summer with a much darker coat in the winter. The albinistic Fallow Deer is the lightest colored ... duh ... almost white ... duh. Common and menil Fallow Deer are darker, and melanistic is very dark, even black (often confused with the Sika Deer). Most Fallow Deer herds consist of the common form ... duh ... but have menil form and melanistic form Fallow Deer among them. The three groups of Fallow Deer do not stay separate and interbreed readily.

Only Fallow Deer bucks have broad, shovel-shaped antlers. During the rut in October, Fallow Deer bucks will spread out and Fallow Deer females move between them, at this time of year Fallow Deer are relatively ungrouped compared to the rest of the year when the Fallow Deer stay together in groups of up to 150.

These Fallow Deer are on display at the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, Louisiana.