Family Cervidae
Family Cervidae
The family Carvidae, or deer family, includes 40 species distributed across Eurasia, and South and North America; deer of this family were also introduced to Australia and New Zealand. Main recognised characteristic of these deer is their antlers, bony branched structures that protrude from the frontals of the skull of the deer and are shed annually, in the middle of winter, to grow again during next spring and summer. Growing of antlers requires huge energy recourses (in some animals antlers may spread as wide as 2 meters, and weigh 30 kilograms). With the exception of caribou, only males have antlers. The males mostly use their antlers during competitions for females in mating season (“rut”). Antlers are made of hard bony tissue, and grow from pedicels, which are bony supporting structures that develop in the lateral region of the frontal bones. After the end of the breeding season, the point of connection between pedicels and the antlers weaken and eventually the antlers are shed. Sometimes males facilitate shedding process by hitting their antlers against tree trunks. After two weeks, cartilaginous formations covered with fur start growing on the pedicels. These formations grow quite fast and soon look like typical antlers. Early in their development, antlers are soft and porous; they are covered with velvety skin rich in blood vessels and nerves (“velvet antlers”), but when antlers reach full size, they completely ossify, the velvet dies and is rubbed off as the animal thrashes its antlers against rough tree bark.
Deer are slender graceful animals with long legs; the smallest deer are not bigger than dogs, and the largest ones have the size of an ox. These deer mainly feed on leaves and browse and may also eat grass, but unlike cows, they do not forage throughout the day.
