What is "red deer"

Deer \Deer\ (d[=e]r), n. sing. & pl. [OE. der, deor, animal, wild animal, AS. de['o]r; akin to D. dier, OFries. diar, G. thier, tier, Icel. d[=y]r, Dan. dyr, Sw. djur, Goth. dius; of unknown origin. [root]7

1. ] 1. Any animal; especially, a wild animal. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

   Mice and rats, and such small deer.
   --Shak.

   The camel, that great deer.
   --Lindisfarne MS.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A ruminant of the genus Cervus, of many species, and of related genera of the family Cervid[ae]. The males, and in some species the females, have solid antlers, often much branched, which are shed annually. Their flesh, for which they are hunted, is called venison.

   Note: The deer hunted in England is Cervus elaphus, called also stag or red deer; the fallow deer is Cervus dama; the common American deer is Cervus Virginianus; the blacktailed deer of Western North America is Cervus Columbianus; and the mule deer of the same region is Cervus macrotis. See Axis, Fallow deer, Mule deer, Reindeer.

   Note: Deer is much used adjectively, or as the first part of a compound; as, deerkiller, deerslayer, deerslaying, deer hunting, deer stealing, deerlike, etc.

   Deer mouse (Zo["o]l.), the white-footed mouse ( Peromyscus leucopus, formerly Hesperomys leucopus) of America.

   Small deer, petty game, not worth pursuing; -- used metaphorically. (See citation from Shakespeare under the first definition, above.) ``Minor critics . . . can find leisure for the chase of such small deer.''
   --G. P. Marsh.

n. 1 browsing mammal, animal with antlers found in Europe, ''(l mul Cervus elaphus)''. 2 The wapiti or North American elk, ''Cervus canadensis'', a deer species of North America, long believed to be a subspecies of the European red deer

n. common deer of temperate Europe and Asia [syn: Cervus elaphus]

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) is a large land-mammal of Europe, central Asia and North Africa.

Red Deer may also refer to:

• Red Deer, Alberta, the third largest city in the Canadian province of Alberta, Canada
• Red Deer County, a municipal district in Alberta, Canada
• Red Deer (electoral district), a federal electoral district in Alberta since 1908
• Red Deer Hill, a community in the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan
• Red Deer (provincial electoral district), provincial electoral district from 1905 to 1986 in Alberta

• HMCS Red Deer (J255), a minesweeper in the Royal Canadian Navy
• Red Deer River, a river in Alberta, Canada
• Red Deer College, a public comprehensive college in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
• Red Deer Rebels, an ice hockey team in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

The red deer (Cervus elaphus) is one of the largest deer species. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, Iran, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being the only species of deer to inhabit Africa. Red deer have been introduced to other areas, including Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina. In many parts of the world, the meat ( venison) from red deer is used as a food source.

Red deer are ruminants, characterized by a four-chambered stomach. Genetic evidence indicates the red deer as traditionally defined is a species group, rather than a single species, although it remains disputed as to exactly how many species the group includes. The closely related and slightly larger American elk or wapiti, native to North America and eastern parts of Asia, had been regarded as a subspecies of red deer, but recently it has been established as a distinct species. It is probable that the ancestor of all red deer, including wapiti, originated in central Asia and resembled sika deer.

Although at one time red deer were rare in parts of Europe, they were never close to extinction. Reintroduction and conservation efforts, especially in the United Kingdom, have resulted in an increase of red deer populations, while other areas, such as North Africa, have continued to show a population decline.

Red Deer was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1908 to 2015.

Red Deer was a provincial electoral district representing the city of Red Deer, Alberta in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1986. The district was split into Red Deer North and Red Deer South in 1986.

For most of the districts history, it was a swing riding, with no party being able win with a second representative until the Progressive Conservatives in the 1970s.