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European Red Deer
The European red deer (Cervus elaphus) is a beautiful animal - a proudly held head with large ears, a proportional body, reddish-brown coat, black hoofs and snout. A mature bull can weigh up to 240 kg.
European red deer appeared in Latvian territory approximately 8,000 years ago, but by the first century of our era they had disappeared. The current red deer population has been introduced artificially in the 17th century. The first imported deer were enclosed in the so-called deer parks because it was thought that they could not survive in the wild. However, at the end of the 19th century some deer broke free and reproduced. In 1998 the number of European red deer in Latvia has been estimated at around 20,000.
European Roe Deer
The European roe deer (Capreolus careolus) is the smallest member of the deer family in Latvia. Its weight seldom reaches 40 kg - that is, about the size of a large dog. It has a slender body, long, thin legs, a small head, and large ears.
The boundaries of the European roe deer distribution are chiefly determined by the depth of snow: for the most part, European roe deer do not live in places where snow is deeper than 40 cm. For that reason, roe deer have difficulty surviving in the winter; they are also threatened by a growing wolf population, stray dogs, and poachers.
European roe deer could be found in Latvian territory as early as the 7th century B.C., but their numbers were smaller than those of other artiodactyla. As with the European red deer and elk, the roe deer population was affected by hunters, predators, and disease. In 1998 there were approximately 40,000 European roe deer in Latvia.
© The Latvian Institute, 2001
This fact sheet can be freely printed from homepage of the Latvian Institute, distributed and cited, on condition that the Latvian Institute is acknowledged as the source. The Latvian Institute is a non-profit organisation (a State Corporation with limited liability) established to promote knowledge about Latvia abroad. It produces publications, in several languages, on many aspects of Latvia.
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