Some of my photos feature antelopes, usually shot in Africa. Many people seem to be confused about the difference between antelopes and deer, so maybe I should explain that briefly. Antelopes and deer may look the same to the casual viewer, they are quite different in reality. Deer can be found in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Deer do not occur naturally in Africa, apart from a small number of red deer in the Atlas Mountains of north-west Africa. Antelopes occur only in Africa and Eurasia (the American ‘pronghorn antelope’ is not an antelope, but a species of deer!). The most obvious difference between deer and antelopes is with the male animals. Male deer have antlers, while male antelopes have horns (but in some species of deer and antelopes also the females have antlers or horns.) Antlers are discarded at the end of the mating season, and grow back on the next year. They usually have branches, the more branches the older the animal. Horns are not discarded. If a horn breaks off during a fight, it won’t grow back on. Horns do not have branches either; they occur in different shapes, but are never branched.

Male deer
kudu

 

Comments are closed.