Red deer. Cervus elaphus. Staltbriedis

Harsh winter for red deer is quite a challenge as our climate is not very suitable for them especially because of snow covered winters. Now, when the snow has frozen, deer can easily walk over it and escape wolves or dog attack. Red deer food in summer mainly is different caulescent plants while in winter they feed on small bushes, tree browse and bark. If the snow is thin, they can scratch it off to feed on lichens, but if it is thick and frozen they usually can't get through it. Sallow, buckthorn, aspen tree, birch, juniper, pine and fir .... Branches, needles and bark --used are everything. Red deer is a ruminant animal and as one it has complicated digestive system with four-chamber stomach that helps digest cellulose found in very fibrous forage. They eat mostly browse that is full of proteins and sugars, however, in comparison with summer this food helps only to survive. Cultivated plants are especially nourishing, as they are softer and succulent than wild trees, so deer come to garden if it is possible. Maybe one of the reasons is their anatomical feature -- they lack upper incisors, instead having a tough pad at the front of their upper jaw. With the toothless upper jaw they press the branch against toothed lower jaw and pull it off.

This deer knows that it is very dangerous for him to be in the garden, so it stops eating time to time to listen. Stags have antlers that make reaching the highest branches of the tree complicated, as they tend to stuck, however, hinds and their fawns don't have this problem. Soon stags will shed their antlers. Old stags shed their antlers in mid March, while young ones only in May.
Staltbriežiem bargā ziema ir grūts pārbaudījums, jo Baltijas klimats nav tiem īsti piemērots tieši sniegoto ziemu dēļ. Tagad, kad sniegs sasalis, brieži brīvi staigā pa sniega virsu un tiem ir viegli aizmukt no vilkiem vai māju suņiem. Vasarā staltbriežu barību veido visdažādākie lakstaugi, bet ziemā tie barojas ar sīkkrūmiem, koku jaunajiem dzinumiem un mizu. Plānu sniegu tie spēj nokasīt un mieloties ar ķērpjiem, bet ar biezu vai sasalušu sniega segu brieži galā netiek. Kārkli, krūkļi, apses, bērzi, arī kadiķi, priedes un egles ziemā ir staltbriežu ēdienkartē. Zari, skujas un miza -- viss noder. Staltbriežiem tāpat kā citiem atgremotājiem ir komplicēta gremošanas sistēma ar četrdaļīgu kuņģi, kurā celulozi sadala un pārstrādā baktēriju, sēņu un vienšūņu armija. Kopā ar augu masām, lielos daudzumos, tiek sagremotas arī šis sīkbūtnes, no kurām brieži iegūst neaizvietojamās aminoskābes. Ēd jaunās augu daļas, kuras bagātas ar proteīniem un cukuriem, tomēr, salīdzinot ar vasaras ēdienkarti, šī ir domāta vien izdzīvošanai. Kultūraugi ir īpaši kārojami, jo tie ir mīkstāki un sulīgāki par savvaļas kokaugiem, tāpēc pie pirmās izdevības staltbrieži nāk uz augļudārziem. Tas parasti notiek tumsas aizsegā. Droši vien šādu izvēli veicina arī tas, ka ābeļu sīkie zariņi ir trausli. Visiem trim mūsu briežiem (stirnai, staltbriedim, alnim) ir kāda anatomiska īpatnība -- tiem priekšzobi ir tikai apakšžoklī. Ar bezzobaino augšžokli zars tiek piespiests zobainajam apakšžoklim un norauts. Jo trauslāks zars, jo vieglāk to izdarīt.

Staltbriedis labi zina, ka dārzā atrasties ir bīstami, tāpēc laiku pa laikam pārtrauc ēšanu un uzmanīgi ieklausās. Staltbriežu buļļiem ragi traucē baroties un aizsniegt dziļāk koku vainagā esošos zarus -- ragi ķeras, turpretim govis un teļi var baroties netraucēti. Nav tālu laiks, kad briežu buļļi sāks mest ragus un marta vidū vecie buļļi, savu rotu būs zaudējuši. Jaunuļi radziņus nometīs tikai maijā.
This video was produced by Slitere National Park Administration as a contribution to the Baltic Green Belt project, which is part-financed by the European Union (ERDF) within the Baltic Sea Region Programme. The Baltic Green Belt is part of the European Green Belt initiative which has the vision to create the backbone of an ecological network, running from the Barents to the Black Sea that is a global symbol for transboundary cooperation in nature conservation and sustainable development.
Baltic Green Belt: http://www.balticgreenbelt.uni-kiel.de

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Pets & Animals

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• Red
• deer
• Staltbriedis