What does the deer like to eat?

Deer (Cervidae) generally refers to the deer family, there are about 34 species in the world, a total of 16 genera about 52 species. Its representative species include sika deer, red deer, reindeer and so on. What does the deer like to eat?

What does the deer like to eat?

Deer are typical herbivores. They like to eat grass, bark, twigs and saplings, but each kind of deer likes to eat differently. For example, sika deer mainly feed on vines and herbs, such as kudzu, Polygonum multiflorum, Codonopsis pilosula, strawberry, etc.; red deer feed on trees, shrubs and herbs, with hundreds of species; and reindeer feed mainly on litmus. They also eat young branches and leaves of bauhinia, mushrooms and woody plants.

Second, how do deer breed?

Tropical deer have no fixed breeding season and are in estrus many times a year without losing their horns. Temperate deer mate from late autumn to winter, and most of them have multiple males and females, giving birth to as many as 3-4 cubs per fetus. It is mainly distributed in Eurasia, North America and South America north of latitude 40 °S and southwestern Africa. But the breeding habits of each species of deer are slightly different. For example:

1. Reindeer

The middle of September to October is the mating season every year, the struggle for female is fierce, and the sexual cycle is 13-22 days. The conception rate was high, with a gestation period of 225-240 days and giving birth from April to May. For every one litter, there are occasionally two offspring. The lactation period is 165-180 days. The female deer matured sexually at the age of 1.5, and some well-developed individuals could participate in reproduction until the age of 14. The reproductive ability was very strong, while the male deer matured later. Reindeer can live for up to 20 years.

two。 Red deer

The estrus of red deer is concentrated in September-October every year, the estrus usually lasts 2-3 days, and the sexual cycle is 7-12 days. The gestation period of the female is 225-262 days and gives birth in hidden places such as bushes and high grasslands, usually giving birth to one litter per fetus.

3. Sika deer

Adult sika deer breed once a year, and male sika deer mate with multiple females from September to October every year. The gestation period of the female deer is about 30 weeks, and it breeds from May to June the following year, with one fawn per fetus, rarely giving birth to 2 cubs.