Deer (Family Cervidae)

Deer are ruminant mammals forming the Family Cervidae. They include
moose, red deer, reindeer, roe and chital. Animals from related families
within the even-toed ungulates (Order Artiodactyla) are often also consid-
ered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer. Male (and a few
female) deer of all species (except the Chinese water deer) grow and shed
new antlers each year – in this they differ from permanently horned
animals such as antelope. The musk deer of Asia and mouse deer of trop-

ical African and Asian forests are not usually regarded as true deer and

form their own families.

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