A baby deer is most commonly called a fawn, a name that applies to the young of many common species, including the white-tailed and mule deer. The specific name actually varies depending on the size and species of the animal, as the largest deer species use different terminology for their offspring.
The Common Terminology for Young Deer
The name given to a young deer is largely determined by the size and species of the animal’s parents. For the medium and smaller species, such as the white-tailed deer, fallow deer, and roe deer, the young are universally known as fawns. This term typically describes the deer during its first year of life, before it reaches sexual maturity or is fully weaned.
Larger members of the deer family, known as cervids, have offspring referred to as a calf, similar to cattle. This terminology applies to massive species like the moose, elk (also called wapiti), and caribou (reindeer). Red deer, found across Europe and Asia, also have young called calves.
The term “kid” is occasionally used for the young of the smallest deer species, such as the roe deer or muntjac deer. However, “fawn” remains the dominant term for most smaller cervids. Calf is equally accurate when referring to the young of the world’s largest deer.
Defining the Fawn Stage
The fawn stage is a period of vulnerability and rapid development, characterized by the spotted coat. A newborn fawn’s reddish-brown coat is speckled with approximately 300 white spots, which serve as effective camouflage by mimicking dappled sunlight on the forest floor. The doe licks the newborn clean to remove odors, pairing this camouflage with a lack of scent that might attract predators.
At birth, a white-tailed fawn typically weighs between five and eight pounds. It is a precocial species, meaning it can stand and walk within minutes of being born.
For the first few weeks, the fawn employs a “hiding” strategy, spending over 95% of its time bedded down alone. When threatened, the fawn instinctively freezes, lowering its heart rate drastically from around 177 beats per minute to about 60 beats per minute to avoid detection.
The mother, or doe, only approaches to nurse, keeping her distance to prevent her own scent from attracting predators to the hiding spot. Fawns grow quickly on their mother’s rich milk, and by two to three weeks of age, they begin to nibble on solid vegetation. The spots begin to disappear toward the end of summer, usually by the time the fawn is three to four months old, as their coat changes to the uniform color of an adult deer.
Adult Deer Terminology
Once the deer leaves the fawn or calf stage, the names for the adults become species-specific, based on gender. For medium-sized deer like the white-tailed deer, mule deer, and fallow deer, the adult male is called a buck and the adult female is a doe. This buck-and-doe pairing is the most common set of terms used in North America.
For the larger species, such as the moose and elk, the terminology shifts to mirror that of cattle. The adult male is called a bull, and the adult female is called a cow. This distinction highlights the significant size difference between these species and the smaller types.
European deer species, particularly the red deer, use distinct terms: the adult male is a stag, and the adult female is a hind. While a stag is sometimes used interchangeably with buck, hind is a unique term for the female of these larger Eurasian deer.