10
Notes on the Identification of Deer in Essex.
Many people would be surprised to learn that
Essex is a good county for deer. Red, fallow,
roe and muntjac all live and breed in the wild and
there is also the possibility of sika and
Chinese water deer escaping from zoos and wild
life parks. There is thus plenty of scope for
incorrect identification.
Red, fallow, roe and muntjac are usually very
different in appearance and most people would
have little trouble in correctly identifying
them if they were together, in the open and in
good light. Unfortunately, wild deer are not
normally that co-operative and it would be an
uncommon sight to see two species together, let
alone four. There are several zoos and wild
life parks with deer in Essex and one can learn
a great deal by studying the deer there and
seeing them in the different seasons and through
their coat changes. Roe, however, do not
adapt well to life in captivity and there are
very few in collections. In a park red deer look
pretty big, which they are. Fallow in comparison
look quite small, but just try convincing yourself
that a fallow buck is small when you are alone in
the woods at dusk!
Red
The largest of the Essex deer and can be 4 feet
at the shoulder, not much smaller than a cow.
The summer coat is a rich red with a creamy white
posterior or caudal patch. This extends slightly
onto the back and is partly covered by a short
tail of similar colour. Calves are born May/June
and are spotted. The spots disappear as the
calf grows and the winter coat comes. The
winter coat is much darker, duller and coarser and