# Sika deer (*Cervus nippon*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/sika-deer  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The sika deer (Cervus nippon) is a mammal in the family Cervidae, subfamily Cervinae, of the order Artiodactyla. It is a large, terrestrial, nocturnal herbivore with an adult body mass of 53 kg, living in forest and grassland habitats. Gestation lasts 223.7 days, females have 1 young per litter and 1 litter per year, and sexual maturity comes at 1.4 years. The IUCN Red List classifies it as Least Concern, not a threatened category, and checklists record it in Australia.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 53 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 25.4 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 26.3 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest, grassland |
| Gestation | 217 days – 224 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 16.4 months – 17 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Artiodactyla
- family: Cervidae
- genus: Cervus
- species: *Cervus nippon* Temminck, 1838

Synonyms: *Cervus dybowskii*, *Cervus hortulorum*, *Cervus hortulorum hortulorum*, *Cervus mnippon*, *Cervus nippon aplodontus*, *Cervus nippon hortulorum*, *Cervus nippon hortulorum*, *Cervus nippon keramae*, *Cervus nippon mageshimae*, *Cervus nippon mantchuricus*, *Cervus nippon nippon*, *Cervus nippon pulchellus*, *Cervus nippon soloensis*, *Cervus nippon yakushimae*, *Cervus pulchellus*, *Sika*, *Sika nippon*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the sika deer?

The sika deer is a mammal in the family Cervidae and the order Artiodactyla. It is classed as a large animal by body mass.

### How heavy is a sika deer?

An adult Sika deer has a body mass of 53 kg.

### What does the sika deer eat?

The sika deer is a herbivore.

### Is the sika deer endangered?

No. The sika deer is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a sika deer live?

The sika deer has a lifespan of 25.42 years, with values up to 26.3 years reported.

### How many young does a sika deer have?

A sika deer has 1 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 223.7 days.

### Which countries is the sika deer recorded in?

Checklists record the sika deer in Australia.

### Who named the sika deer?

The sika deer, Cervus nippon, was named by Temminck, 1838.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Sika deer (Cervus nippon). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sika-deer