Irish red deer


The Irish red deer is a subspecies of the red deer that is native to Ireland. Their current distribution is believed to be that of the red deer in Killarney National Park.

Details

Opinions are still mixed if it is its own subspecies or not, for DNA analysis shows traits of another subspecies of red deer native to Ireland, being the Scottish red deer. The Irish red deer may have broken off from the Scottish red deer around 5,000 years ago, but this has not been proven. Only a few individuals have been found with the same traits of the subspecies.