Ethology of the Deer
The red deer (Cervus elaphus)
Habitat and diet
Nowadays, the red deer mainly occupies the large deciduous forests at low altitude or plains with clearings or marshes, but it can also be found in open or semi-open environments (meadows, moors, scrubland) (Mathiasson & Dalhov 1987, Klein & Saint-Andrieux 2021). Contrary to popular belief, forests are actually a place of refuge, especially when anthropogenic pressure is high. Red deer are present in both the plains and the mountains, in high-altitude meadows between 2,000 and 2,700 metres, with a home range that varies according to the seasons and food resources, and can cover up to 5,000 hectares (Geist & Bayer 1988). Red deer feed on a variety of plants when browsing and grazing: grasses, herbaceous plants, brambles, leaves, buds, shoots of shrubs and bushes, lichens, mushrooms, acorns, chestnuts and beechnuts (Gebert & Verheyden-Tixier 2001). When given the opportunity, it attacks cereal crops. Periods of food shortage are often due to prolonged snow cover. Nowadays, to mitigate this, game crops are planted: forest paths sown with nutritionally valuable grasses, small fields of cereals, beets, cabbages left standing over winter with water points.
Deer lifestyle
The adult male weighs 130 to 180 kg, is between 1.80 and 2.30 m long and has a shoulder height of 1.20 to 1.40 m. The female (doe) weighs 110 to 130 kg and is between 1.70 and 2.10 m long with a shoulder height of between 1.00 and 1.20 m.
The red deer's matriarchal organisation dictates the formation of herds (5 to 40 individuals) according to the seasons (Geist & Bayer 1988, Klein & Saint-Andrieux 2021). Outside the mating season, males and females live separately. The females (called does when they are adults and fawns between 1 and 2 years old) live in herds led by an elderly and experienced female. They are accompanied by their young of the year (or fawn) and those of the previous two years (called a hind if it is a 1-year-old male and a calf between 1 and 2 years old). The young females then join herds close to those of their mothers, whom they often find again during the large winter gatherings (Klein & Saint-Andrieux 2021). Around the age of 2 or 3, the young males, adopting erratic behaviour for a few years, in turn gather in herds of about ten individuals of the same age or even many more, depending on the region. However, these compositions are fluctuating and movements from one herd to another are frequent (Durantel 1990). At around the age of 4 or 5, they settle in their definitive territory, sometimes a long way from their original territory (Klein & Saint-Andrieux 2021). Old males are usually solitary or accompanied by a young male, the ‘page’.
The lifespan of the red deer varies according to sex, climate and population density (Bonenfant et al 2002). Females generally live longer than males (Klein & Saint-Andrieux 2021) and, although both sexes can live for more than 20 years, their mortality rate increases from the age of 10 (Clutton-Brock et al. 1982).
Annual seasonal cycle
During the winter, the adults of both sexes live separately. The males group together in twos or threes, while the females live in herds of varying sizes depending on the population density (usually a dozen or so animals). In the red deer, the winter coat grows during the autumn and takes on its full greyish-brown colour at the onset of winter, with the exception of deficient animals that retain their reddish-brown summer coat for longer (Mathiasson & Dalhov 1987). The males lose their antlers from the end of winter and especially around the spring equinox.
In spring, the stags return to the heaths or high-altitude meadows when they have spent the winter in the valley; if they have remained in the forest, they do not make these short migrations. The does, always in herds, have stayed with their fawn from the previous year. But, after 8 months of gestation, when the new fawn is born (May-June), they temporarily move their young from the previous year away. A doe gives birth to 1 or sometimes 2 fawns and suckles them for 8 to 10 months. A few days to a few weeks after giving birth, the yearlings can return to the herd with their ‘foster’ mothers, i.e. accompanied by their young of the year. The males, who then lose their antlers, remain in small groups or even alone depending on their age.
During the summer, the stags remain fairly discreet. They feed mainly at dawn and dusk, following generally fixed routes between the grazing areas and resting places. Does and fawns form herds, but the yearlings begin to break away.
The end of summer until autumn marks the rutting season or breeding period. The males approach the females from August onwards. The rut continues into September and even October in mountainous areas. From one year to the next, the stags frequent favourite places where they make their presence known and attract the does by bellowing, especially at night (Mathiasson & Dalhov 1987). These impressive roars are accompanied by a characteristic posture: raised muzzle, head thrown back with the antlers touching the back, a position often depicted in Palaeolithic art. Thus, the most powerful mature males each constitute a harem of 10 to 30 does and defend it tirelessly throughout the rut. The dominant male marks his territory by leaving his scent, in particular by rubbing his forehead against trees[1], from which he tears off part of the bark with his antlers. To discourage his rivals, he will also try to intimidate them with characteristic postures: he parades with his head held high and his neck arched near his opponent, which also allows him to assess his strength and valour, and even goes so far as to challenge him with charges. When combat is inevitable, it confronts its rival by chasing it and using its antlers, a real sexual weapon, which create deafening noises in the forest when they clash. In general, the weaker of the two gives up but the injuries, sometimes serious, can lead to the death of one of the two combatants. Only the winner has the right to reproduce, but the youngest sometimes take advantage of the fighting to mate. During this period, the stag stops feeding and becomes vulnerable. He covers all the females when they are receptive, for 24 to 48 hours. After mating, the males disperse before gathering in small groups; the older males remain solitary. The does rejoin their fawns and the herds are reconstituted.
[1] Deer have scent glands located on their nails, rump and forehead (Sologne nature website).
Aline Averbouh, archaeologist, specialist in the study of industries in hard materials of animal origin, Senior Research Fellow at the CNRS, UMR 7209 AASPE.
Quote this text (English version): Averbouh A. 2025. Ethology of in: Averbouh A., Feruglio F. & Plassard F. Dir. The Jean-Clottes database, Animal representation in Prehistory (BJC), "Deer File", posted online on 12/03/2025
Quote this text (French version): Averbouh A. 2023. Ethology of the stag in: Averbouh A., Feruglio F. & Plassard F. Eds. Base Jean-Clottes - Animal Representation, Les représentations animales de la Préhistoire, ‘Dossier cerf’, V1 mise en ligne le 18 Octobre 2023, V2 mise en ligne le 28/10/2025
References used
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Clutton-Brock T.-H., Guinness F.-E., Albon S.-D. 1982. —Red deer : behavior and ecology of two sexes. University of Chicago press, Chicago, 378 p.
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Gebert C., Verheyden-Tixier H. 2001. —Variations of diet composition of Red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) in Europe. Mammal Review, 31(3-4):189-201
Geist V., Bayer M.1988. — Sexual dimorphism in the Cervidae and its relation to habitat. Journal of Zoologie, London, 214(1): 45-53
Klein F. et Saint-Andrieux Ch. 2021. —Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758, Cerf élaphe, in Atlas des mammifères sauvages de France, volume 2 : Ongulés et Lagomorphes, Publications scientifiques du Museum, Paris: 78-84
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