Persian Fallow Deer (Dama mesopotamica) at Munich Zoo 2006

Interesting, I guess you were there in Autumn, as the buck is obviously in rut..looks like a European fallow except for the antlers.

Yup, early September for the Zoohistorica meeting.


The antlers are the most obvious difference - they are also a little paler in colour than a 'standard' European Fallow, and are much more consistently coloured (lacking the tendency of European Fallows to produce white or even black individuals).

Yes, I presume because Persian hasn't been kept in semi-captive situations, it hasn't evolved the different colour forms of European fallow.

This photo shows the antlers very well.

I took a photo of a shed pair off a young Messo in Australia last weekend and will put them up.