Caspian red deer
{{Short description|Subspecies of deer}}
{{about|the a red deer subspecies|the Altai or Siberian maral|Altai wapiti|the Tian Shan maral|Tian Shan wapiti}}
{{subspeciesbox
| name = Caspian red deer
| image = Caspian Red Deer (Maral) in Arasbaran forest.jpg
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref={{cite journal|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-020-02077-4
|title=Conserving populations at the edge of their geographic range: the endangered Caspian red deer (Cervus elaphus maral) across protected areas of Iran
|year=2021
|publisher=Springer Link
|doi=10.1007/s10531-020-02077-4
|access-date=2 October 2022|last1=Shokri
|first1=Shirko
|last2=Jafari
|first2=Abbas
|last3=Rabei
|first3=Korous
|last4=Hadipour
|first4=Ehsan
|last5=Alinejad
|first5=Hossein
|last6=Zeppenfeld
|first6=Thorsten
|last7=Soufi
|first7=Mobin
|last8=Qashqaei
|first8=Ali
|last9=Ahmadpour
|first9=Mohsen
|last10=Zehzad
|first10=Bahram
|last11=Kiabi
|first11=Bahram H.
|last12=Pavey
|first12=Chris R.
|last13=Balkenhol
|first13=Niko
|last14=Waltert
|first14=Matthias
|last15=Soofi
|first15=Mahmood
|journal=Biodiversity and Conservation
|volume=30
|issue=1
|pages=85–105
|bibcode=2021BiCon..30...85S
|s2cid=254283122
}}
| genus = Cervus
| species = elaphus
| species_link = Red deer
| subspecies = maral
| authority = (Gray, 1850)
}}
The Caspian red deer (Cervus elaphus maral), is one of the easternmost subspecies of red deer that is native to areas between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea such as Crimea, Asia Minor, the Caucasus Mountains region bordering Europe and Asia, and along the Caspian Sea region in Iran.{{cite book|author1=Henry Charles Howard Suffolk and Berkshire (Earl of)|author2=Hedley Peek|author3=Frederick George Aflalo|title=The Encyclopaedia of sport & games|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zmM-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA76|year=1911|publisher=J.B. Lippincott company|page=76}} The Caspian red deer is sometimes referred to as maral, noble deer, or eastern red deer.{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Meat Sciences: 3-volume set|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vL9dAwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA194|date=22 July 2014|publisher=Elsevier Science|isbn=978-0-12-384734-8|page=194}}{{cite book|author1=Henry Charles Howard Suffolk and Berkshire (Earl of)|author2=Hedley Peek|author3=Frederick George Aflalo|title=The Encyclopaedia of sport & games|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cpouAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA262|year=1911|publisher=W. Heinemann|page=262}}
Classification
The Caspian red deer is a subspecies of the red deer.
Description
The Caspian red deer is around {{convert|4|ft|6|in}} tall, and can weigh {{convert|500|to|700|lbs}}. Their antlers are around {{convert|4|ft}} in length, and {{convert|6|in}} in girth. Its coat is dark gray, except in the summer, when it is a dark brown. They shed their antlers in late winter and their new antlers reach full growth in late summer. One, occasionally two, fawns are born in mid-spring. The fawns are reddish brown with white spots.{{cite book|author=Eskandar Firouz|title=The Complete Fauna of Iran|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2EZCScFXloC&pg=PA83|date=14 October 2005|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-85043-946-2|page=83}}
Ecology and behaviour
Domestication
Threats
Within Russia, the Caspian red deer has been hunted for velvet antlers since the 1930s.{{cite book|author1=Jörg Gertel|author2=Richard B. Le Heron|title=Economic Spaces of Pastoral Production and Commodity Systems: Markets and Livelihoods|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NIjbdf-Um_MC&pg=PA232|year=2011|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4094-2531-1|page=232}} Historically, demand for velvet antlers from Asia was met by organized deer farms in the Soviet Union.{{cite book|author=Alison Davidson|title=Velvet Antler: Nature's Superior Tonic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1C6E1Hra4oC&pg=PA13|date=1 August 2000|publisher=SAFE GOODS/New Century Publishing 2000|isbn=978-0-9701110-0-5|page=13}} Hunting by humans have been noted as the cause for decreases in population. The approximate number of Caspian red deer in eastern Georgia dropped from 2,500 in 1985 to 880 in 1994.{{cite book|author=Tim Burford|title=Georgia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TRXGB7SJjVQC&pg=PA10|year=2011|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-357-3|page=10}} Their primary predators include Persian leopards and, to a lesser extent, wolves and brown bears. In the past they were also hunted by the now-extinct Caspian tiger.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Cervus elaphus maral}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070223205506/http://www.europe.gbif.net/portal/ecat_browser.jsp?taxonKey=1007501 Cervus elaphus maral at GBIF]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q766569}}
Category:Mammals described in 1850