the Central European red-stag reaches a withers-height of 125 cm and a weight of 250 kg. Other subtypes become considerably bigger, wapiti: Withers-height 160 cm; Weight 500 kg. The summer-fur is shining bay. The sallow-white mirror is usually bordered by a black edge at the back of the thighs. In the winter-fur, the noble-stag appears dun. The pre-eye-glands are well developed. At the rear-runs, the metarsus-gland is under a hairbrush. On both sides of the tail-root, it gives another pair to scent-glands. The short tail sometimes is colored somewhat darker than the mirror.
Antlers The antlers of the Central European red-stag means a climax in the development of the forehead-arms-bearers. The antlers-poles have a round cross-section. With a major antlers, the forward directed Augsprosse is densely over the rose. Directly over it, it originates from more sideways pointing ice-rung. Farther above, the means-rung is at the pole. The next rung can fork in the cross-direction, as well the shortly after following rung. These last both rungs form a crown of at least 3, through further Vergabelung however also very much increasing. If the Endsprossen form one cups, one speaks of a cup-crown. The crown-formation is characteristic for the Central European red-stag. In the Pleistozän (ice age-ages) lived in Europe stags with wapiti-antlers. These stags spread across Asia to North America. In the Postglazial (after-ice age), they were replaced with the more progressive crown-stags in Europe.
When counting the ends, one takes as a basis the antlers-pole with the majority of the ends. A "odd Zwölfender" therefore has at a pole 5 and on the other 6 ends. A "ice-rung-ten" has already an ice-rung, the ice-rung is missing with a crown-ten, one has for it, crown three-finishes formed at the pole. Through further Vergabelung on the crown-end or (rare) through fork of the means and Augsprossen, higher end-numbers can be created. A Vierzehnender is regarded as major stag.
Hunter-language Since centuries, hunters use expressions, that deviate from the slang, for the game. The ears of the stag are called "eavesdroppers", the mouth is the "Äser", the eyes are "seers", the fur is the "blanket", the tail a "duster", that is guts, the "perspiration" is the "Gescheide" and the blood. The male is simply called "stag", the female "animal", also hind or hind in the writing-language.
Habitat Red-stags prefer timberland-ships with clearings and forests, that border on open terrain. In the high mountain region, the type lives above the timberline in the summer. In Scotland, the red-stag is found in heath and moorland-ships. The Buchara-Hirsch lives in the extended reed-continuances of the Amu-Darja. The Jarkand-Hirsch was in the area of deserts and semi-steppes in Chinesisch-Turkestan. Today, this race seems to be out wiped. North American wapitis live in forests and advanced far in the prairies earlier. Today, wapitis live predominantly in the mountains. In the winter, they come into the valleys and form gigantic herds there. Also the stags of the Alps and other high mountain regions execute seasonal hikes.
Way of life Noble-stags form herds from young and adult females, who are led by a hind, the "head-animal." Adult males perform in smaller herds. Major stags often live as a loner. In the winter, the herds can unite to bigger stoves. Out of consideration for its sensitive bast-antlers, the males cannot linger in so dense hedge like the females occasionally.
Red-stags are active at night, however they appear there where they are not disturbed, also with day. In our culture-landscape, the red-stag is a shy game, on whom only few people set eyes in the wild. At night, the stags wander in its precinct. The peel-marks of the track give information over it. A step-seal is 7,5-8,5 cm long and 4,5-6,5 cm wide. One usually first recognizes the presence of the red deer by the track.
Noble-stags are good runners, jumpers and swimmers. At the Norwegian coast durchschwimmen it fjords and inlets. Strong stags are less persevering as hinds and young. The stags like to look for refrigeration in a water or mud-hole in the summer. they pick up mud, that they toss over the back, on that occasion with the antlers. Wallowing serves among other things also the defense of flies and other nuisance-spirits.
Reproduction The Brunft of the red deer lasts from September to beginning of Octobers, with the wapiti until in November in. A strong stag collects 6-12 females about itself. it expels all other males from its precinct. Vehement Brunftkämpfen occurs on that occasion, the occasionally too strong injuries lead. During the Brunft "tubes" the males; they discharge a far-to resounding reputation, that sounds like a lengthened "oah", on that occasion. Through its tube, a stag gives kund that it holds a Brunftrevier busy. A "place-stag" doesn't tolerate that a hind of its Brunftrudels escapes. it immediately represses it, with the aid of the antlers.
A crying male stag lifts the head. The bloated neck and the neck-mane get the validity through it. In some years, there is a "quiet Brunft." The stags tubes then more rarely or not at all. In the combination-time, hardly any male stag takes time for the food. At the end of the Brunftperiode, it appears fought hard and meagerly, however it catches up the weight-loss again fast.
The Tragzeit lasts 237 days in the means. The hind places a calf in May or June. Twins rarely were born. The stag-calves admittedly are capable already after few hours to follow the mother, however they are still set aside in the first 2 life-weeks. The hind looks for its calf to suckling. If the calf is hungry, it opens its pre-eye-glands as olfactory-signal. To the extent like it, it is satiated, the pre-eye-glands close again. The calf is suckled for months approximately 8.
Youth-development The first antlers is created between the 7. and 14. Life-month. The Erstlingsspießen long until 25 cm lack the rose. In the age of 2 years, the stag throws off this antlers. In the next antlers, the Augsprosse with the pole forms a pointed corner. With the following antlerses, this corner becomes ever flatter. The antlerses are thrown off in February or Marches. Therefore, February is called also "Hornung."
With 12-14 years, the stag reaches its strongest antlers with a weight up to 15 kg. Later, the stags put back. End-number and pole-scope decrease. The maximum-age of the noble-stag amounts to 18-20 years.
Food Red-stags äsen in the winter buds, softwood-branches, bark (peeling-damages)!), Heather, blackberry-foliage; in the summer grass, foliage and herbs. Acorns, chestnuts and other fruits deliver them to mast in the autumn.
Race-arrangement The single representative of the red-stags, who populated North America, is the wapiti. it is the biggest and development-historically most recent of the red-stags at the same time. it is colored yellow-gray, stomach, legs and neck-mane are darker. The wapiti has a big, shining mirror and a short tail.
The European red-stag is represented in central-Asia and in the Himalaya by 5 subtypes, that are smaller and are their antlerses rather simply built. Most of these subtypes are threatened by the extinction.
1. Atlas-stag (Cervus e). barbarus. Little one, dark brown with individual light stains. No Augsprossen.
2. Maral, Kaukasushirsch, Cervus e. maral. Bigger than the typical red-stag, fur-color more gray, shoulder-region and underside almost black. Heavy antlers, simple crown.
3. Hangul, cashmere-stag, Cervus e. hanglu. Antlers in a level, Augsprosse more shortly than ice-rungs, mirrors small, black bordered, black tail.
4. Szetschuanhirsch (Cervus e). macneilli. it still is supposed to have survived in inferior number in Sinkiang, Turkestan and Tibet.
5. Shou, Sikkinhirsch, Cervus e. wallichi. Turned antlers in the upper part forward; Tail-color like mirrors.
6. Buchara-Hirsch (Cervus e). bactrianus. Ice-rung, simple, long Endgabel, is missing. Color sallow, short legs.
7. Jarkand-Hirsch (Cervus e). yarkandensis. Lighten bay with big mirror, that includes the tail. Endgabel points forward. Already do be regarded as extinct.
8. Isubrahirsch (Cervus e). xanthopygus. That of the red-stag resembles coloring. Shine big in the winter. Antlers shortly, simply branches.
9. Altai-Maral (Cervus e). sibiricus. Aug and ice-rungs originate from densely together. Long antlers-poles.
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