Deer of Ireland

There are four species of deer living wild in Ireland today, namely Red Deer, Fallow Deer, Sika Deer^[1] and the recently introduced Reeve's Muntjac which is becoming established. The native Red deer almost became extinct in the 20th century, with only around 60 left, but have now made a comeback to approximately one thousand.^[2] Fallow deer were introduced in Norman times, 1169 AD, 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.^[3] 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 no roe deer currently exist in Ireland.

The Irish Elk, or Giant Deer, became extinct in Ireland about 10,500 years ago during the Nahanagan Stadial; many of their skeletal remains have been found well preserved in peat land.

Native Deer species

• Irish Elk - Now extinct.
• Red Deer - Extanct.

Introduced Species

• Fallow Deer
• Roe Deer - Now extinct.
• Sika Deer
• Muntjac

Gallery

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  Red Deer

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  Fallow Deer

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  Sika Deer

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  Irish Elk

References

1. Wild Deer Association of Ireland
2. "Kerry red deer ancestry traced to population introduced to Ireland by ancient peoples over 5,000 years ago". Retrieved 6 November 2012.
3. The roe deer by Henry Tegner 1951

Valuable reading

Butler, F. and Keelleher, C., (eds) 2012. All-Ireland Mammal Symposium 2009. Irish Naturalists' Journal, Belfast, 90pp