AnAge entry for Cervus elaphus

Classification (HAGRID: 02020)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Artiodactyla
                Family: Cervidae (Taxon entry)
                    Genus: Cervus
Species: Cervus elaphus
Common name: Red deer

Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits

Maximum longevity: 31.5 years (captivity)
Source: ref. 671
Sample size: Large
Data quality: High
Observations: One captive specimen was about 31.5 years of age when it died [0671]. Average lifespan in captivity is similar to what is observed in wild populations (10-11 years) [1389].

Life history traits (averages)

Female sexual maturity: 852 days
Male sexual maturity: 730 days
Gestation: 245 days
Weaning
Litter size: 1 (viviparous)
Litters per year: 0.9
Inter-litter interval
Weight at birth: 10,100 g
Weight at weaning
Adult weight: 200,000 g
Postnatal growth rate: 0.006 days^-1 (from Gompertz function)
Maximum longevity residual: 99%

Metabolism

Typical body temperature: 308ºK or 35.2ºC or 95.4ºF
Basal metabolic rate: 112.4300 W
Body mass: 67000.0 g
Metabolic rate per body mass: 0.001678 W/g

References

[1389] Hoffman and Valencak (2020), A short life on the farm: aging and longevity in agricultural, large-bodied mammals (PubMed)
[1150] Jones et al. (2014), Diversity of ageing across the tree of life (PubMed)
[1135] Lemaitre et al. (2013), Comparing free-ranging and captive populations reveals intra-specific variation in aging rates in large herbivores (PubMed)
[1143] Nussey et al. (2013), Senescence in natural populations of animals: widespread evidence and its implications for bio-gerontology (PubMed)
[0900] Nussey et al. (2009), Inter- and intrasexual variation in aging patterns across reproductive traits in a wild red deer population (PubMed)
[0791] Nussey et al. (2008), Testing for genetic trade-offs between early- and late-life reproduction in a wild red deer population (PubMed)
[0789] Wilson et al. (2007), Evidence for a genetic basis of aging in two wild vertebrate populations (PubMed)
[0790] Nussey et al. (2006), The rate of senescence in maternal performance increases with early-life fecundity in red deer (PubMed)
[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[1009] Arnold et al. (2004), Nocturnal hypometabolism as an overwintering strategy of red deer (Cervus elaphus) (PubMed)
[0036] Savage et al. (2004), The predominance of quarter-power scaling in biology
[0147] Loe et al. (2003), Decelerating and sex-dependent tooth wear in Norwegian red deer (PubMed)
[0086] Ditchkoff et al. (2001), Concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I in adult male white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus): associations with serum testosterone, morphometrics and age during and after the breeding season (PubMed)
[0146] Fisher et al. (2000), Role of ovarian failure in reproductive senescence in aged red deer (Cervus elaphus) hinds (PubMed)
[0145] Kruuk et al. (2000), Heritability of fitness in a wild mammal population (PubMed)
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0676] Purvis and Harvey (1995), Mammal life-history evolution: a comparative test of Charnov's model
[0677] Saether and Gordon (1994), The adaptive significance of reproductive strategies in ungulates (PubMed)
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves

External Resources

Integrated Taxonomic Information System: ITIS 180695
Animal Diversity Web: ADW account (if available)
Encyclopaedia of Life: Search EOL
NCBI Taxonomy: Taxonomy ID 9860
Entrez: Search all databases
Ageing Literature: Search Google Scholar or Search PubMed
Images: Google Image search
Internet: Search Google