Brevard Zoo Welcomes ‘Peach’ the New Fallow Deer at Wild Florida Loop

By  //  June 10, 2023

Fallow deer are not native to Florida

ABOVE VIDEO: Peach is getting to know her new habitat-mates – white-tailed deer Plum and Persimmon along with our Osceola turkey flock.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Meet Peach the fallow deer in the Brevard Zoo’s Wild Florida loop.

See if you can “spot” a new deer resident in our Wild Florida loop! Named “Peach” by her keepers, the 3-month-old fallow deer will be easy to identify even as she heads into adulthood.

Fallow deer like Peach actually keep their spotted coat throughout their lives!

Peach now shares a home with the zoo’s white-tailed deer Plum and Persimmon along with the zoo’s Osceola turkey flock.

Brevard Zoo is a home for deer who can’t be released back to their natural habitat.

Peach was found without her mother by a community member in the Fort Pierce area. They raised Peach for a while before she was confiscated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and placed in a licensed rehabilitation facility.

Fallow deer are not native to Florida, so the zoo stepped in to give her a permanent home. This species originates from Europe, but fallow deer were introduced to a number of countries, including the United States.

Meet Peach the fallow deer in the Brevard Zoo’s Wild Florida loop. (Brevard Zoo Image)

This species is considered invasive as they compete with native species like white-tailed deer for food.

“While we’re happy to give Peach a home and our resident deer a new habitat-member, we want to remind everyone that vulnerable wildlife is trafficked every day around the world – even right here in Florida – for the illegal pet trade,” said a spokesperson for the Brevard Zoo.

“Before you select a pet, be sure to understand where the pet came from and never take an animal from its natural home. If you don’t know where the pet came from, find another source to ensure we work together to stop the illegal pet trade of the animals we all love.

Be sure to say hi to Peach and the rest of our “herd” in their Wild Florida habitat across from our lions! Feeding stations are placed along the perimeter of their habitat if you’d like to offer them a snack.”