Friday 25 March 2011

Breeding, gestation and lifespan

Red Deer mating patterns usually involve a dozen or more mating attempts before the first successful one. There may be several more matings before the stag will seek out another mate in his harem. Females in their second autumn can produce one and very rarely two offspring per year. The gestation period is 240 and 262 days and the offspring weigh about 15 kg (33 lb). After two weeks, fawns are able to join the herd and are fully weaned after two months.[24] All Red Deer fawns are born spotted, as is common with many deer species, and lose their spots by the end of summer. However, as in many species of Old World Deer, some adults do retain a few spots on the backs of their summer coats.[4] The offspring will remain with their mothers for almost one full year, leaving around the time that the next season offspring are produced.[6] The gestation period is the same for all subspecies.

Red Deer live up to over 20 years in captivity and in the wild they average 10 to 13 years, though some subspecies with less predation pressure average 15 years.

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