Deer is an animal belonging to the Cervidae family and there are around 50 species, such as red deer, white-tailed deer, etc. There are many interesting facts about deers, especially about their pregnancies.
Fawns have a seven-month old gestation period and there are many more aspects of their pregnancy period. If you also seek answers to the questions such as How Long Are Deer Pregnant? What You Need To Know, you can get answers here.
Let us walk through some of the fun facts about the gestational cycle of a deer.
Gestation Period of a Red Deer
Gestation period of a red deer is between 264 and 305 days. The Red deer can give birth to between one and five offspring every year. On an average, the deer can produce one to two offspring.
This discrepancy in the Gestation length is the reason behind this difference in the number of offspring.
As a matter of fact, the more time a fetus takes to develop inside the mother’s womb, the more developed it is at the time of birth.
Effects of Seasons on Breeding
Diverse seasons have different effects on a deer’s breeding. Thus, it is essential to know that these deers are seasonal breeders. This implies that these deers mate only during certain seasons of the year.
Now, this mating period is different for diverse kinds of deers. For example, whitetails breed during the fall season.
Now, this is the time when often male deers start looking for female deers for breeding purposes.
Rut – Term for Buck’s Behavior
Buck is a male deer who undergoes physiological changes during the breeding season. They possess high levels of testosterone which makes them more aggressive.
Also, their antlers grow more as the breeding season comes near. Rut is the word used for describing the bucks’ behavior when they initiate the chase for the ‘she’ deer.
During this time, the bucks are more prone to challenge other males in order to get a better view at the ‘does’. Thus, hunters find it easier to find more bucks during this period as they are more in the out.
The bucks at this time are trying to seek the ‘does’ through their smell. As per experts, a buck can smell a ‘doe’ from a distance of about a mile in estrus.
Estrus
When the buck goes into rut, the period is known as estrus for the doe. This period also initiates in the month of October and goes on till early December.
However, in few cases, this estrus period can extend to a longer period if the doe does not become pregnant. Usually, the estrus period of a doe varies between 17 and 22 days.
The doe usually goes into heat for around 24 and 36 hours which may increase if she does not get pregnant at that time. As per a study, around 98 percent of mature females get into breeding successfully every year.
When a buck seeks a doe in the estrus period, it may stay with the doe till the breeding period and then moves on to other doe.
Gestation Period
Gestation period for different deer species varies as well as rut and estrus periods as well. A Whitetail deer has a gestation period of 200 days and every doe can give birth to one to three fawns in the spring season.
On the other hand, the gestation period for Mule Deer is 230 days and it can give birth to usually two fawns. Another species, Fallow Deer, has a gestation period of around 240 days. The species can give birth to only one fawn during the early to late spring season.
Red Deers have a gestation period of 230 to 240 days and can give birth to one to three fawns in the late Spring season.
Roe Deer has the longest gestation period of 290 days on an average. And it can give birth between one to three fawns in the Spring season.
Conclusion
This above-mentioned information about pregnancy in Deers comes handy to hunters when they are hunting down deers. Also, these facts tell a lot about different Deer species and their pregnancy.
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