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There are four species of deer living wild in Ireland today, namely red deer,
fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...
,
sika deer The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to ...
, and the recently introduced
Reeve's muntjac Reeves's muntjac (''Muntiacus reevesi''; ), also known as the Chinese muntjac, is a muntjac species found widely in southeastern China (from Gansu to Yunnan) and Taiwan. It has also been introduced in Europe, western United States and Japan. It ...
, which is becoming established. Recently, roe deer have been spotted in county Wicklow and county Armagh. The Irish elk and the Red Deer both became extinct in Ireland about 10,500 years ago during the Nahanagan Stadial. The reindeer was extirpated from Ireland about 9500 years ago. Many of their skeletal remains have been found well preserved in peat land. The current red deer population, once thought to have been descendants from the native stock which had come to Ireland at the end of the last ice age, are now believed to have been brought from Britain across the North Channel by neolithic people around 3300 BC. They almost became extinct again in the 20th century, with only around 60 left, but have now made a comeback to approximately one thousand where the "native" herd has survived in
Killarney National Park Killarney National Park ( ga, Páirc Náisiúnta Chill Airne), near the town of Killarney, County Kerry, was the first national park in Ireland, created when the Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish Free State in 1932. The park has sinc ...
. Fallow deer were introduced in Norman times, and now have a population of about 10,000. Sika deer were introduced in Powerscourt park in 1860, escaped from captivity, and now number about 20,000. Scottish roe deer were introduced to the Lissadell Estate in Co. Sligo around 1870 by
Sir Henry Gore-Booth Sir Henry William Gore-Booth, 5th Baronet (1 July 1843 – 13 January 1900), was a notable Arctic explorer, adventurer and landowner from Lissadell House, Sligo, Ireland. Antecedents The Gore Baronetcy, of Artarman in the County of Sligo, wa ...
. The Lissadell deer were noted for their occasional abnormal antlers and survived in that general area for about 50 years before they died out, and few roe deer currently exist in Ireland.


Extinct/extirpated deer species

* Irish elk - became extinct about 10,500 years ago * Reindeer - became extinct in Ireland about 9,500 years ago


Reintroduced species

* Red deer - reintroduced about 3300 BC


Introduced species

*
Fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...
*
Chinese water deer The water deer (''Hydropotes inermis'') is a small deer superficially more similar to a musk deer than a true deer. Native to China and Korea, there are two subspecies: the Chinese water deer (''Hydropotes inermis inermis'') and the Korean wa ...
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/concern-over-illegal-spread-of-chinese-deer-1.906866#:~:text=A%20SPECIES%20of%20Chinese%20deer,established%20itself%20in%20the%20southeast. * Roe deer *
Sika deer The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to ...
*
Reeve's muntjac Reeves's muntjac (''Muntiacus reevesi''; ), also known as the Chinese muntjac, is a muntjac species found widely in southeastern China (from Gansu to Yunnan) and Taiwan. It has also been introduced in Europe, western United States and Japan. It ...


Gallery

Image:Silz_cerf22.jpg, Red deer Image:Damhirsch 3.jpg,
Fallow deer ''Dama'' is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer. Name The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes ...
Image:Cervus nippon hortulorum nbg.jpg,
Sika deer The sika deer (''Cervus nippon''), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world. Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to ...
Image:Megaloceros.jpg, Irish elk


References


Valuable reading

Butler, F. & Keelleher, C. (eds) (2012). "All-Ireland Mammal Symposium 2009". ''Irish Naturalists' Journal'', Belfast, 90 pp. {{DEFAULTSORT:Deer Of Ireland Mammals of Europe Fauna of Ireland Deer