SINCE its introduction in the late 1860s, the European fallow deer has thrived throughout the Cape provinces and the Free State, to the point where it has become an asset to their economies via the hunting industry and has significantly enhanced the local cuisine.
This species is ideally suited to the southwestern Cape’s Mediterranean-type climate, while also being supremely adaptable, flourishing in the hills and mountains of the Eastern Cape and the grassy plains of the Free State. Although categorized as primarily a grazer, the fallow deer has manifested itself as a non-selective feeder, also browsing on a wide range of leaves, fungi, berries, pods, bark, roots and more.
Many zoologists are opposed to introduced exotics, but, like trout, fallow deer deserve residence. Yes, they’ll eat cultivated crops, but then…