Sika deer are reddish-brown with white spots on the back. (Philip Hay/Flickr)
The sika deer is a small, brown elk that lives in quiet marshes and forested wetlands on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Appearance:
Varies in color from reddish-brown in the summer to dark brown or black in the winter
White spots on the back
White rump
Males have narrow antlers and a dark, shaggy mane on the neck
Grows to about 2.5 feet tall at the rump
Males usually weigh about 90 pounds, while females usually weigh about 70 pounds
Habitat:
Lives in isolated marshes, wetlands and swamps and thick loblolly pine forests
Mostly nocturnal
Sexes live separately except during breeding season: females usually live in small groups with their young, while males live alone during fall and winter and in groups of other males during spring and summer
Range:
Found throughout the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, mostly in southern Dorchester County but also in Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties
Females have a home range of about 150 acres, while males have a home range of nearly 500 acres
Native to Japan, Taiwan and eastern Asia
Feeding:
Feeds at night on plants, grasses, marsh vegetation and crops such as corn and soybeans
Predators:
No natural predators in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Humans hunt sika deer for their meat
Voice:
Communicate with one another using at least 10 different sounds
Emits a distinctive short, high-pitched “bark” when alarmed
Females use soft bleats and whistles to communicate with their young and other females
During breeding, males emit a long, multi-pitched wail
Reproduction and Life Cycle:
Breeds in autumn, beginning in late September
After about seven months (usually in May), the female gives birth to a single calf
Most sika deer breed in their second year, but about one-quarter breed in their first year
Other Facts:
Also called sika elk or Asian elk
Males are called “stags” and females are called “hinds” or “cows”
Although they are called deer, sika deer are actually a member of the elk family
First introduced in the Chesapeake Bay watershed on James Island in Dorchester County, Maryland, in 1916
Although it is an exotic species, sika deer are not considered invasive because they do not directly compete with native wildlife for food and habitat
