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National Model Mapped Fallow Deer Relative Abundance Across Australia

Male European fallow deer standing at a forest edge
Conservation · Population & status

Australia’s national agricultural research agencies have released a new continent-wide model of the current distribution and relative abundance of European fallow deer (Dama dama). The 2026 dataset estimates relative abundance in 5 × 5 km grid cells across mainland Australia, Tasmania and King Island, with higher values modelled in parts of Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and south-eastern South Australia.

View the national map and its uncertainty estimates (ABARES and CSIRO).

The model combined records with environmental data

ABARES and CSIRO combined several kinds of evidence in one species-distribution model. Some records simply showed places where fallow deer had been reported, camera traps provided locations both with and without detections, and roadside spotlight surveys also supplied information on how many deer were seen. The model combined these observations with seven environmental variables, including temperature, distance to water, forest and grassland cover, rainfall seasonality and distance to modified grazing land, to estimate where deer were relatively more or less abundant.

The map shows relative abundance, not deer numbers

The output is a measure of relative abundance rather than an estimate of the actual number of deer. A cell with a higher value is modelled to hold more fallow deer relative to a cell with a lower value, but the value cannot be converted directly into a deer count. The agencies note that some animals will go undetected and that differences in how the underlying surveys were designed could not be fully modelled. The 5 km resolution is therefore intended for broad-scale comparison rather than local control planning. Areas with recent eradication or suppression programmes may also be overestimated because observations can lag rapid changes on the ground.

The dataset forms part of Australia’s National Vertebrate Pests and Weeds Distribution Project.

Sources and image credit

  1. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, & Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. (2026). Current national relative abundance of fallow deer in Australia (2026) [Data set]. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences.

Image: European fallow deer stag at a forest edge; illustrative species photograph. LubosHouska / Pixabay / Wikimedia Commons / CC0 1.0. · CC0 1.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

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