Many people visit the Arab world to check out its striking landscapes and rich history. Still others visit the Middle East because they enjoy the wide array of flora and fauna they find only in this region. Today, Kaleela takes you on a journey to learn about some of that wildlife. In particular, we look at the two most widely common species of deer – the Persian fallow deer and the roe deer.  (By the way, these deer names in the Arab world are الأيل الفارسي / al’ayl alfarisiu and أنثى الظبي / ‘unthaa alzabi, respectively.)


Persian Fallow Deer Facts


The Persian Fallow deer is a very rare deer of the Middle East. Today, Persian fallow deer’s habitat is in countries from Palestine to Iran. Some people who study deer claim it’s a cousin of the fallow deer found in Europe. However its Middle Eastern cousin is bigger and has antlers that are of a flatter shape. Nevertheless, both species have the same chestnut brown coat that’s speckled with white spots.

Persian fallow deer are plant eaters. During summer, their diet mostly consists of grass. What’s more,  they also eat certain leaves and nuts.  

With just a little over 1,100 of the species living in the world, they are an endangered species.  In Palestine alone, there are only 300 living in the wild and 270 of the species living in captivity.


Facts About Roe Deer in the Middle East


The roe deer is a small, reddish and gray brown deer. They live in most of Europe and as far east as Kazakhstan. They reach a height of around 63–67 cm (2 ft 1 in–2 ft 2 in), and can weigh between 15 and35 kg (35–75 lb).  In the Middle East, you’ll find them mainly in northern Iraq and Iran. 

Like most deer, they mainly feed on grass, leaves and nuts. They especially like young shoots of grass after a recent rain. What’s more, they will not venture into fields to graze where there is livestock present.

Frightened roe deer will bark like a dog and flash their white tails as a warning to other deer.

Once endangered, there are about 500,000 of the deer in the world today and their numbers are still rising. However, because they eat crops and vegetation, many see them as “vermin” these days.


Oh, deer! It seems as though we’ve run out of deer in the Middle East to talk about today. However, if you’d like to learn more about the flora and fauna of the Arab world, visit our blog on regular basis.  While you’re there, be sure to check out our Kaleela Arabic learner app. Here, you learn more Arabic words and phrases about animals and everything else Arabic as well. Visit kaleela.com for more info!

Kaleela –  Learn Arabic the Right Way!

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