Index Home Join IPCC

The Giant Irish Deer - a victim of the Ice Age

Throughout the lowlands of central and eastern Ireland, the well preserved fossilised remains of Megaloceros giganteus, more commonly known as the Giant Irish Deer or the so-called 'Irish Elk' are often found as the farmer drains his fields or cuts his turf. Elsewhere in Europe the bones of lion, hippopotamus and rhinoceros are often discovered in foundations of buildings. In Ireland the bones and antlers of the Irish Elk occur in lake sediments beneath the raised bogs. A victim of the Ice Age, they vanished forever from Ireland about 10,500 years ago.

The male Giant Irish Deer would roam the lowlands of Central and Eastern Ireland. His huge antlers which measured up to 2 metres along the curvature were used primarily to intimidate rival Giant Deer. Copyright Frank Mitchell, Shell Guide to Reading the Irish Landscape. 1986. * Town House & Country House Ltd.

The most famous site for the fossil discoveries is at Ballybetagh Bog, near Glencullen, Co. Wicklow, where over 100 Deer skeletons have been recovered. Giant Irish Deer remains have also been found at Howth, Co. Dublin, Lough Gur, Co. Limerick and many other sites in Ireland. A few of the fossil finds have been in caves but most are recorded as "bog" discoveries. They are found in lake clays which are between 10,950 and 11,750 years old, although samples found in Irish caves date back to around 32,000 years ago.

Evidence suggests that the deer were prone to wading in the lakes, perhaps to escape biting insects or to access the mineral rich lake side plants, and there they would sink into the tenacious clays. The males had an extra burden in the form of their huge antlers which made them front heavy adding up to 35kg to the pressure forcing their hooves deeper into the lake sediments. These lakes would later become filled with vegetation and formed peat around 9000 years ago.

Probing for giant deer fossils in the blue clay layer under the bog. Copyright Frank Mitchell, Shell Guide to Reading the Irish Landscape. 1986. * Town House & Country House Ltd.

Although first recognised in Ireland, the species was not confined to this country. Remains have been found in countries such as Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Northern Italy and central Asia. In fact it is thought that the animal originated in Siberia but gradually migrated westwards in search of a warmer climate. The animals had an ability for great distance traveling and were highly adaptable to new environments and Ireland proved to have the perfect climatic and vegetative conditions for the animal to thrive in. The presence of large numbers of this magnificent animal and the fact that it considerably exceeded its continental neighbours in size would indicate that conditions in Ireland were favourable to it.

At the time of their arrival, good grasslands and numerous small lakes dominated the landscape. Most of the low-lying country became covered with grasses and herbs with intervening scattered copses of birch, juniper and dwarf willow. The Giant Deer confined itself to these lowlands where the herbage suited its diet. Its remains are absent from mountainous areas of the northwest, west and southwest where the crowberry heaths of the time were unattractive to it.

The precise date of the Giant Deer's arrival in Ireland is uncertain. The animals are thought to have inhabited Ireland from 37,000 to 32,000 years ago and again from 11,750 to 10,950 years ago. Their most recent inhabitation was at the end of the last Ice Age during a relatively warm period when the climate was similar to today. These temperate conditions however were short lived and a temporary return to arctic conditions about 10,500 years ago consequently destroyed all vegetation. With the collapse of the long spring season of grass and plant growth which allowed the animal to build up reserves for the rest of the year, the Giant Deer was without a food supply and soon became extinct. Many theories have been developed to explain the disappearance of the Giant Deer in Ireland but the currently accepted one is the deterioration of climate.

In appearance, the Giant Deer was a magnificent animal. He stood at almost 2 metres high at the shoulders and is estimated to have weighed from 800 to 1000 lbs (364-454 kg) although it may well have been in excess of this. The most striking feature of this animal was his huge antlers which measured up to 4 metres along the curvature which are the largest antlers of any known deer, living or extinct. The antlers varied considerably between the Giant Deer but all had areas of 'palm' which are flat, and pointed 'tines' which project from the upper edge of the palm area. Only the males carried these antlers which served two extremely important survival purposes. Firstly the fact that they were visually striking helped to intimidate rivals and to impress potential mates. Secondly, they were structured in such a way to suggest that they were used to fight rivals as their overall engineering strength appears to be oriented to withstand combat stresses. In particular the architecture of the tines was such that some protected the eyes while others were positioned for gouging the opponent.

The female Giant Deer had a difficult role also as she had to contend with the developing foetus and milk production. It is interesting though that very few female skulls have been recovered whereas the National Museum has hundreds of male skulls with portions of antlers still intact. This is partly because of their lack of antlers which attract a collector's attention to the male specimens and also because of a rarity of females in Irish deposits.

An Post stamp issued to commemorate the Giant Irish Deer in 1999 Copyright An Post

It appears that the deer were free to roam the grassy plains of Ireland unthreatened by predators or man. In all the recent fossil finds, the bones are in the lowest layers of mud or peat, layers formed about 2000 years before man arrived in Ireland. The wolf was the only hunting animal but they could not have been much of a threat to these huge animals. As a result of this uninterrupted dominance, Ireland has become a natural time capsule which offers scientists the opportunity to examine exactly how they lived, ate and died. Research in other countries where the Deer occurred has been complicated due to the fact that the environment was shared with humans and predators.

Although Giant Deer fossils are considered to be a relatively common find in Ireland, there appears to be a rarity of genuine material. This is a reflection of the automation of peat extraction which in previous centuries was carried out largely by hand. The National Museum of Ireland has the largest collection of Giant Deer of any museum with 10 complete skeletons and the remains of 250 animals of which only 6 are females. The fossils are consequently highly valuable with recent records standing at £27,000 for a complete skeleton. To see just how impressive the Giant Irish Deer was, a visit to the National Museum of Ireland is a must.

Copyright: * Town House & Country House Ltd., Charleston Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.