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