Persian Fallow Deer

Facts

IUCN ENDANGERED (EN)

Facts about this animal

The Persian fallow deer is somewhat larger than the European fallow deer. The short smooth coat is overall a reddish-brown to ochre colour, with numerous prominent white spots spread randomly about the body. A band of white spots along the lower part of the body demarcates the range of the spots, while two rows of spots, or some cases a solid white line, run alongside the darker dorsal line. The undersides, including the neck, chin and jowls are white, as is the muzzle.

The antlers of the Mesopotamian fallow deer, carried only by the males, have thick beams with many tines. Unlike the European fallow deer, they do not have a large, flat "palm" on the upper part of their antlers.

The Persian fallow deer previously occurred in North Africa from the Tunisian border to the Red Sea and in Asia from Syria and Jordan ro Iraq and western Iran, but was hunted to extinction over most of its range, with the advent of modern firearms having accelerating this process. By 1951 it was thought to have become extinct, but in 1955 a limited number were found in a dense forested region in Iran, near the border with Iraq, from where Georg von Opel, the founder of Opel Zoo, and later the Nature Conservatio Authorties of Israel were able to obtain a few specimens, which formed the nucleus of today’s zoo population.

Did you know?
that the Persian fallow deer is listed in the Book of Deuteronomy (14:5) among the seven species of non domesticated ungulates that the Children of Israel were permitted to eat?

Factsheet
Class	MAMMALIA
Order	ARTIODACTYLA
Suborder	RUMINANTIA
Family	CERVIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Dama mesopotamica
Name (English)	Persian Fallow Deer
Name (French)	Daim de Mésopotamie
Name (German)	Mesopotamischer Damhirsch
Name (Spanish)	Dama pérsico
CITES Status	Appendix I
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Eyal Bartov

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Iran, Irak, Israel
Habitat	Deciduous woodland with open patches
Wild population	Approx. < 100 (1998)
Zoo population	149 reported to ISIS (2005)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

Hard antlers should be removed before transport under proper restraint and, where required, sedation. No deer with antlers in velvet at a stage of growth which could be damaged easily should be transported where there is a risk of injury.

For air transport, Container Note 73 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations, should be followed.

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