deer

Deer (singular and plural) are the ruminant mammals that comprise the family Cervidae. Species therein include white-tailed deer, such mule deer as black-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer (caribou) fallow deer, roe deer, pudú and chital. Male deer of all species (except the Chinese water deer) and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year, thereby differing from such permanently horned animals as antelope, which are in the same order as deer and may be superficially similar. The musk deer of Asia and water chevrotain (or mouse deer) of tropical African and Asian forests are not usually regarded to be deer and form their own families: Moschidae and Tragulidae, respectively.