I live in South Africa and here the antelope is king (after the big 5, of course). Just take our national rugby team and biggest pride, the Springboks. We do have deer (mainly fallow and axis deer) but they certainly aren’t as prominent. In fact, we consider them invasive and exotic. In other countries, probably where you live as well, deer are the main character and antelope supporting cast. The point is – there’s a difference between the antelope and the deer.
Overview
Antelope and deer may look like they belong to the same family, but they don’t. Instead, both of their families are in the order Artiodactyla. The only other thing they have in common is that they’re both ungulates, or hoofed animals.
Antelopes are members of the Bovidae family, which also includes sheep, goats, and cattle. Some of the 91 antelope species include the springbok, gemsbok, impala, eland, waterbuck, gazelle, and kudu.
Deer belong to the Cervidae family, which is divided into two subfamilies, known as:
- Capreolinae: reindeer, roe deer, moose, water deer, etc.
- Cervinae: muntjac, fallow deer, elk, red deer, etc.
Physical Appearance
Antelope: The 91 different species all have different horns, but the thing that binds them is that all of them have permanent horns. They don’t regrow and neither do they branch out. Some females don’t grow horns, but two thirds of all species do. Antelope can be brown or gray and some have light/dark markings on different body parts. All antelope have a white streak on their face.
Deer: Unlike antelope, deer don’t have permanent horns. Instead, only males have antlers that they shed annually. The reindeer is one of the few animals that can regrow body parts and in this case it’s the horns or antlers. Deer are mostly reddish-brown, but their coats turn a duller gray-brown color in winter. They don’t have a common marking among the different species like antelope do.
Size
Antelope: The largest species can weigh up to 2,100 lbs., which is pretty remarkable, especially if you consider the deer’s maximum weight. The giant eland is the biggest antelope, and it stands 6 feet tall at the shoulder.
Deer: The heaviest deer weighs no more than 900 lbs. That 2,000 lbs. of the antelope sounds even better now, right? Moose are the biggest of all the deer species and they stand up to 6 feet and 11 inches.
Behavior
Antelope: They can run up to 55 miles per hour and maintain a speed of 25 miles per hour for long distances. They defend themselves by staying in groups or by running away really fast and they surround their young when trouble comes lurking. For some reason they’re also very sensitive to new stimuli, which causes them to go wild and crash into fences.
Deer: Deer can run up to 35 miles per hour, but they can’t maintain their speed for long. They use their speed to defend themselves but they’re very vigilant when grazing. They’ve got a social hierarchy and they’re generally shy, but things change during mating season when the males start competing for dominance.
Habitat
Antelope: They’re native to all areas in Africa and Eurasia. For instance, the Tibetan antelope is living in Russia, and the Blackbuck is living in India. It just so happens that the Gemsbok is now an invasive species in New Mexico. These ungulates prefer open grasslands but they’re no strangers to rainforests and woods.
Deer: They’re on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. You’ll find six different species living in England and the European Roe Deer is a species that’s unique to Europe. The only native African deer is the Red Deer. Since there are so many different types of deer, their habitats can vary from tundra to areas between prairies and forests.
Diet
Antelope: They’re herbivores, so you can bet on it that their diets are as green as it gets. They eat as much grass as they can, and they find it by grazing for the largest part of the day.
Deer: They’re not as picky as antelope and their diet can change according to their habitat. However, for the most part, they eat grass, fruits and nuts, bark, leaves, twigs, and shrubs.
Conservation Status
Antelope: At least 25% of all antelope species are facing extinction. As a matter of fact, some of them are already wiped off the face of the Earth. Take the Saiga Antelope, an unique animal you didn’t know existed, which is critically endangered. Then, there’s the Scimitar Oryx, an antelope that only lives in captivity.
Deer: Reindeer are one of the animals you’ll encounter in the Arctic. You had a good chance of spotting one a couple of years ago but thanks to climate change, they’re losing their habitat. Today, they’re considered vulnerable, and their numbers are drastically decreasing. Other deer species, like the Key deer, one of the rarest animals in Florida, are also facing threats like habitat loss and over-hunting.
Other Differences
Gallbladders: Antelope have gallbladders, while deer don’t. They don’t need gallbladders because they’re herbivorous animals, so they don’t need to consume a lot of fat. It also helps them survive longer without food and water because the absence of gallbladders means they don’t get gallstones.
Lifespan: There’s no right answer when it comes to the lifespan of deer and antelope. Some antelope species can live to be over 20 years old, while wild white-tailed deer have a lifespan of 4.5 years. However, captive individuals can live for 6-14 years.
Migration: Antelope migrate for food, water, and labor purposes. Deer migrate to find food, escape predators, interact socially, make a duck from human activities, and to find better weather conditions.
Gestation: Once again, we’ve come across something that varies by species. An antelope’s gestation period can be anything between 165 (Blackbuck) and 270 (Sable) days. The deer’s ranges between 201 (White-tailed deer) and 290 (Roe deer) days.
Reproduction: Deer only give birth to a single fawn but antelope can have up to 2 calves at a time. Pronghorn antelope are prone to twinning, with 94% of births ending up as a twin birth.
Similarities
Anatomy: Antelope and deer both have multiple stomach chambers to digest plants, which makes them ruminants. The 4 chambers are called the rumen, omasum, abomasum, and reticulum.
Males and females: Both deer and antelope males are called bucks and females are called does. Their babies are also called fawn.
Gender size: In both antelopes and deer, you’ll notice that the females are always smaller in size because they’re both sexually dimorphic.
