How Big Is a Red Deer? Stag and Hind Size and Weight

Red deer size at a glance

Stags are much bigger than hinds, a difference biologists call sexual dimorphism. A mature stag is often 1.5 times or more the weight of a hind from the same area.

In Scotland, measurements quoted for adult stags average roughly 2 m (6.6 ft) in head and body length and 1.2 m (4 ft) at the shoulder, and for hinds about 1.8 m (5.9 ft) long and 1.14 m (3.7 ft) tall. Weights there are lower than in most of Europe.

Highland vs woodland red deer

The same species can look like two different animals. Red deer living on the open hills of the Scottish Highlands often weigh only about 90–120 kg (200–265 lb) as stags and well under 100 kg (220 lb) as hinds. Red deer living in lowland woods, parks and farmland in England or on the European mainland are often far heavier.

The difference comes mainly from food and weather, not genes. Highland deer live on heather moorland and coarse grasses, which are poor in nutrients, and face long, wet, windy winters. When hill deer are moved to richer land, they and their offspring grow much larger. Deer introduced to New Zealand and Argentina, where food was plentiful, also grew large bodies and antlers.

The smallest form of all is the Corsican red deer of Corsica and Sardinia, where stags weigh only about 80–100 kg (175–220 lb). The largest are found in the Carpathian Mountains and other parts of central and eastern Europe, and in the Caucasus region. There, exceptional stags can exceed 250 kg (550 lb).

How big do red deer antlers get?

Antlers grow on stags only and are regrown every year. A typical set is about 70 cm (28 in) long, while exceptional stags grow antlers over 1 m (3.3 ft) long. Large sets can weigh several kilograms and often carry 10 to 14 points in total, sometimes more. A stag with 12 points is traditionally called a royal.

Antler size reflects age, health and food. Stags usually grow their biggest antlers between about 7 and 11 years of age, and the antlers then become smaller again as the stag gets old. Stags from the Highlands carry noticeably lighter antlers than woodland stags in good habitat.

How fast do red deer grow?

Calves are born from late May to July after a pregnancy of about eight months and weigh only a few kilograms at birth. They grow quickly through their first summer on their mother’s milk and fresh grass, but the first winter is a hard test, and light calves are less likely to survive it.

Hinds reach close to full size at about three to four years old. Stags keep growing for longer and reach full body size at around five to six years, which is roughly when they become strong enough to hold a harem. Weight also changes with the seasons. Stags are heaviest in early autumn and can lose up to about a fifth of their weight during the red deer rut, when they hardly eat.

How does a red deer compare with other deer?

The red deer is usually ranked the fourth-largest deer species by average weight, after the moose, the elk and the sambar of southern Asia. It is the largest deer native to western Europe and the biggest wild land mammal in Britain and Ireland.

The roe deer, which often shares woods with red deer in Europe, is tiny by comparison: a red deer stag can weigh as much as six or more roe bucks. The elk of North America looks similar but is larger, with a paler rump patch and longer, swept-back antlers. See how big is an elk? for its measurements.

Myths and misunderstandings about red deer size

“Red deer are as big as elk.” The largest eastern European red deer can approach the size of smaller elk, which is partly why the two were once treated as one species. On average, though, elk are clearly bigger.

“Scottish deer are a dwarf breed.” Highland red deer are small because of their tough environment, not because they are a separate kind of deer. Given richer food, they grow larger within a few generations.

For more about how red deer live, feed and breed, see the red deer profile.