Red Deer Eating Habits

Habitat

• The red deer is a very adaptable species, able to fit itself into many different types of habitats, going where the availability of food is the highest. They tend to favor hilly wooded areas, but usually avoid heavily forested regions. They can also be found on grasslands or moors if food is available.

Diet

• The red deer is a forger and feeds on the available local plant life it finds. The red deer tends to favor grasses and low shrubs, but will feed on trees and even seaweed--the latter, especially during the winter months. The actual makeup of the red deer diet depends on the predominant plant life in a region. In wooded areas, the deer feed primarily on shoots and trees, while in grassy areas and moorlands they foraging for grasses and heather. This is a testament to the adaptability of the species.

Ranging Habits

• The red deer ranges based on the availability of food and the seasons. During warmer summer months, the red deer avoids the heat by escaping to higher lands, allowing it to forage comfortably. This also has the effect of putting the red deer out of range of summer parasites and biting bugs. In the winter, the colder temperatures and harsher weather forces the deer back down into lower climates where food is more plentiful.

Feeding Impact

• An averaged-sized red deer population in an area can be very beneficial to the local plant life and the species that survive on it. The foraging of the deer allows smaller plant species to grow, creating greater biodiversity. In addition, moving herds trample down taller grasses and turn soil to allow shoots to thrive in their wake. Overpopulation of red deer species in a region, on the other hand, can have a severe impact on the landscape. The increased population of deer puts a strain on local plant life, as new shoots are consumed too fast to grow. This prevents many new plants for repopulating an area.