Red and roe deer are native to the UK since the last ice age. Fallow, Chinese water deer, muntjac and sika deer were all introduced to the UK.
- Fallow deer were introduced from Europe by the Normans in the 11th century.
- Sika deer (or Japanese sika) were introduced in 1860, having been imported from the Far East and becoming established through both deliberate release and escape.
- Chinese water deer, the least common and most easily identified (by their ‘tusks’) of deer species in Britain, became established following escapes from Whipsnade Zoo in 1929.
- The smallest species of deer found in Britain, the muntjac deer, was brought from China in the early 20th century and introduced to the southern English countryside, where they flourished and quickly established feral populations.
