Deer/Antelope Hybrid

[Elmer fudd 1]

Have just been sat in my office looking up at the wall, where I have several deer trophies and an Impala trophy from a trip in 2016.

Having see a rather bizarre picture posting on this forum with a picture of a young deer mounting a sheep it got me wondering where antelope were of a relation close enough to breed with Antelope. a quick google later and came across this article Hybrid DEER AND ANTELOPE. I am in no way qualified to peer review this paper but it does make for an interesting read!

 

[Cootmeurer]

A great deal of the older works used phenotype as a “proof” of hybridization in the wild. Lots of modern work using DNA clarifies this. Some seeming hybrids are nothing of the sort, just odd phenoypes. On the other hand, some species are almost entirely hybridized at some level, carrying all sorts of gene clusters that were not originally their own. The beauty of DNA is it can still sort a hybrid after multiple generations of backcrossing.

 

[VSS]

Deer and antelope would not be able to hybridise.
Various types of deer can hybridise with one another, as can various types of antelope, but not deer x antelope.

 

[25 Sharps]

Deer and antelope would not be able to hybridise.
Various types of deer can hybridise with one another, as can various types of antelope, but not deer x antelope.

True, there was a thread with a sika/roe hybrid recently

 

[Mungo]

Have just been sat in my office looking up at the wall, where I have several deer trophies and an Impala trophy from a trip in 2016.

Having see a rather bizarre picture posting on this forum with a picture of a young deer mounting a sheep it got me wondering where antelope were of a relation close enough to breed with Antelope. a quick google later and came across this article Hybrid DEER AND ANTELOPE. I am in no way qualified to peer review this paper but it does make for an interesting read!

Absolutely no chance at all that any deer could produce viable offspring with any antelope.

Even within ‘deer’ as a group, hybridisation is restricted to the closely related species. You can’t get red-roe for red-white tail hybrids.

 

[Sol]

The Red X Peredavid experiment was interesting hardly a photo exists though they got really bred down from F1's to be a meat breed so I'm not really sure if any "true" F1s currently exist wonder what there antlers look like?

(Apparently one of the animals)

 

[Pete6.5]

But a interesting fact is a pronghorn antelope sheds it's horns and regrows them like a deer.

 

[VSS]

But a interesting fact is a pronghorn antelope sheds it's horns and regrows them like a deer.

The pronghorn isn't actually an antelope. Antelopes are bovids.
Neither is the pronghorn a cervid (deer).
It's in a class of its own.

 

[Sol]

Pronghorn do shed there horns however you'll never see a buck running around just with the bony core exposed, Seemly they start growing there new horn under there old almost like a tooth Its a pretty interesting animal.

 

[Cootmeurer]

For those familiar with North American deer, the current consensus is that the Mule Deer is actually an ancestral hybrid. The original parents were the west coast black tail and the Eastern whitetail.

What makes this even more interesting is that there is a west coast whitetail (Colombian whitetail) that is in the same areas as the black tail, and they don’t seem to hybridize (or at least don’t do so often).

 

[sikamalc]

Deer and antelope cannot interbreed.

 

[Elmer fudd 1]

Deer and antelope cannot interbreed.

I am aware and came to the same conclusion within about 5 minutes of my initial thought.

The article shared still makes for an interesting read

 

[dogone]

We have both white tail deer and antelope here. The only interaction I have seen was in late spring. A deer and antelope noticed each other and sniffed noses. Never seen any other interaction.

 

[Elmer fudd 1]

A local estate to me has fallow and red lechwe in the same park, they stay a good distance apart most of the time, when they are close they ignore each other

 

[Mungo]

A local estate to me has fallow and red lechwe in the same park, they stay a good distance apart most of the time, when they are close they ignore each other

Where’s that? Surely not in the UK?

On a slight side note, I imagine you know that lechwe lek, in a very similar way to fallow.

 

[Elmer fudd 1]

Where’s that? Surely not in the UK?

On a slight side note, I imagine you know that lechwe lek, in a very similar way to fallow.

Yes in UK

Have watched them through the year, the letchway tend to keep themselves to themselves.

 

[Mungo]

Yes in UK

Have watched them through the year, the letchway tend to keep themselves to themselves.

(Rifle unloaded of course and animals not being shot)

Wow.

I love lechwe - remind me of my childhood.

Are you able to say where this is?

 

[Elmer fudd 1]

I'm not but there are a surprising number of places with them around the UK. I believe west midlands safari park has a herd but i could be wrong.

I should add the photo shared was a couple of years ago!