Red Deer Facts | Croatia & Slovenia Wildlife Guide
Different from both ibex and chamois, male red deer live in herds outside of mating season. Starting at two years old, the males grow antlers each year between March and July and shed them by the end of each winter. Ibex and chamois grow one set of horns throughout their entire life span.
Rutting season, September to October, involves such ferocious fighting that stags suffer serious injuries and sometimes, though rarely, stags may die. Mothers (hinds) give birth from early to mid-June, the fawns difficult to see due to excellent camouflage from their white-spotted brownish red coats.
Females live with the young from the previous year in small herds. Mothers identify their young by smell emitted from glands located below the eyes. Fawns can also cry out when in distress, a unique call recognized by each mother.
