Deer are now so common in Tuscany that they have become pest species, along with the wild boar (cinghiale, pl. cinghiali). Only twenty years ago, deer were infrequently sighted in Tuscany and even then only in forested areas or on roads through the forest. Currently, when you drive almost anywhere through the countryside at dawn or dusk, or hike through the Apennine foothills, you are likely to encounter one of Tuscany’s three primary deer species, the Roe deer, the Fallow deer and the Red deer. These Tuscan deer will be commonly sighted not only in forests but in and near vineyards where they cause significant damage by eating grapes and tearing down vines as the grape harvest approaches. With the explosion of the deer population, wolves (lupo, pl. lupi) are repopulating the cultivated areas of Tuscany. Wolves are less commonly seen in Tuscany but they are present and photos of them near populated areas appear in the news papers monthly.
The Roe Deer (capriolo, pl. caprioli), Capreolus capreolus
The Roe deer is the most abundant and iconic deer in Tuscany. They are small, elegant creatures, somewhat larger than a very large goat. They have a distinctive reddish-brown coat in the summer that turns a thick, grizzled grey in winter. Look for their white rump which flashes when they bound away. They are quite shy but you’ll often spot them in the buffer zones between dense woods and open vineyards, particularly in the Chianti and Val d’Orcia regions. Younger caprioli are easily tamed and can be fed by hand. They especially enjoy freshly harvested nettles (ortica). Their "barking" alarm call is often mistaken for a dog barking but is somewhat hoarse and has a lower bark frequency than a barking dog.
The Fallow Deer (daino, pl. daini), Dama dama
The Fallow deer is historically native to Turkey and possibly the Italian Peninsula, Balkan Peninsula and the island of Rhodes near Anatolia. During the Pleistocene period, it inhabited much of Europe, and has been reintroduced to its prehistoric distribution by humans. They are more social than Roe deer and are often seen in larger herds. They are easily recognised by their white-spotted coats (which many keep into adulthood) and the male's broad, shovel-like (palmate) antlers. They favour the coastal forests and Mediterranean scrub, such as in the Maremma Regional Park.
The Red Deer (cervo or cervo rosso, pl. cervi), Cervus elaphus
The Red deer is the undisputed giant of the Italian woods. A mature stag can weigh over 200 kg - nearly eight times the size of a Roe deer. They prefer the high-altitude forests of the Apennines, specifically the Casentinesi Forests National Park on the border of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. They try to avoid humans and so are rarely seen running along side or across roads. If you visit in late September, you can hear the astonishingly loud, guttural roar of the stags echoing through the valleys as they call their females.
IMPORTANT!
When driving through Tuscany, watch for the sign below. Deer, while very attractive animals, especially when small, are also - how can I put this? - quite stupid. I have seen them many times dash through the grass along a road, parallel with a car or bus, and then suddenly turn and race across the road in front of the vehicle. You don't want to run into a deer - the damage to your car and maybe to you will be considerable.
More about fauna of the Val d'Elsa.
More about Tuscan wildlife and domestic animals.
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Author: Anna Maria Baldini
