Sika deer Coloring Pages

Sika deer live all over Japan

The Sika deer lives in Japanese forests and mountains, from Hokkaido all the way to Kyushu.
Their bodies are about 90 to 190 cm long for boys. Girls are a little smaller.
They run very fast in the mountains on their long, thin legs.
The deer in Nara Park are Sika deer, too!

Summer fur has white spots

In summer, Sika deer have brown fur with rows of white spots.
This pattern is called the "fawn pattern."
When winter comes, their fur turns grayish-brown, and you can hardly see the spots.
Try looking for the spots on their bodies in the first coloring page!

White fur on their bottoms

The Sika deer has white fur with a black border on its bottom.
When they notice danger, they puff out this white fur to warn their friends.
The bright white bottom is easy to see when running, so the herd can follow along.

Only boys have antlers

Only boys have branched antlers.
Every year in the spring, antlers fall off from the base, and new ones grow back.
Brand-new antlers are soft and covered in skin and fur.
In the second coloring page, a boy with antlers and a baby without antlers sit side by side on the grass!

Nara deer are a natural monument

The deer living in and around Nara Park are protected as a national natural monument called the "Deer of Nara."
People have taken good care of them for a long time as messengers of the gods.
They live right next to people, so you can get a very close look at them!

Big ears and great eyes

Sika deer have big ears that turn around to catch even tiny sounds.
Their eyes are on the sides of their heads, so they can see all around them.
If they hear a dangerous sound, they quickly bound away!

They eat grass and leaves

Sika deer eat grass, leaves, and tree bark.
They bring food back up into their mouth to chew it again later. This is called "chewing the cud."
The deer in the second coloring page might be sitting down and chewing, too!
A grown-up boy's antlers branch out in many ways, just like tree branches.

Color the body light brown

In summer, Sika deer are a light brown or orange-brown color.
If you color the back a little darker and the belly a little lighter, your Sika deer will look nice and round!

Leave the spots white

It looks very pretty if you do not color the white spots and leave them white.
Color around the spots first so you do not color over them!

Antlers and hooves

Color the boy Sika deer's antlers on the second page with light brown or beige.
If you make the tips a little white, they will look real!
Color the hooves on the bottom of the legs dark brown or a blackish color.

Face and bottom

Try coloring the inside of the big ears light pink or white, and the tip of the nose dark brown.
Leave the white fur on the bottom white and color around the edges with dark brown to make it look just like a Sika deer!
For the second page, we suggest yellow-green for the grass and dark green for the trees behind.

Make the baby's spots stand out

If you color the baby Sika deer on the second page a lighter brown than the parent, it will look just like a cute kid!
Baby Sika deer have spots that show up better than adults.
Make sure to leave those white spots clear and bright!

Color the legs nice and straight

Color the thin legs on the first page nice and straight from top to bottom.
If you make it a little darker below the knees, the legs will look nice and strong!
There is no background, so it is fun to draw your own grass and trees around the Sika deer.
Just making the hoof color a little darker will make your picture look great!

In autumn, the males call out a lot

Autumn is the mating season for the Sika deer.
The males call out in a high voice to invite the females.
In old Japanese poems, people often wrote about the sound of Sika deer calling in the autumn.

Antlers grow bigger every year

A male's antlers fall off and grow back every year, and as he gets older, they get bigger with more branches.
A grown-up male's antlers usually have about four points at the ends of the branches.

Sika deer crackers

At Nara Park, people sell "Sika deer crackers" for you to feed to the Sika deer.
When you show them a cracker, the Sika deer sometimes bow their heads to you!

Tools made from Sika deer antlers

A long time ago, people used fallen Sika deer antlers to make tools and decorations.
Because they are hard and strong, people even made them into things like buttons and chopsticks.

It can be a problem when there are too many

Today, there are too many Sika deer, and sometimes they eat tree bark in the forest or crops in farm fields.
People are working hard so that humans and Sika deer can live together nicely.
Sika deer are animals with very good hearing.