Red deer is the common name for a species of deer found in Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. Red deer have smooth coats that range in color from rich, reddish-brown in summer to grayish-brown in winter. The hart (adult male) grows stately, branched antlers that are shed each year. A hart weighs from 250 to 350 pounds (113 to 159 kilograms) and stands 3 1⁄2 to 4 1⁄2 feet (1 to 1.4 meters) high at the shoulder. Most hinds (adult females) are shorter than the harts, and they have no antlers.
Red deer live in forests and open areas. In some regions, they spend summers in mountain meadows and winters in lowlands. In late spring to early summer, female red deer give birth to a single calf. Red deer live for about 15 years in the wild.
Close relatives of the red deer include the Central Asian red deer, the sika deer of Japan, and the white-lipped deer of China. The elk, also called wapiti, is another close relative.
