Originally found only in Turkey and surrounds, fallow deer have made their way around the world and now live in 49 different countries. The Phoenicians, Romans, and Normans introduced the species throughout Europe and the United Kingdom. In later years, the deer made their way across the oceans to North America and beyond. Fallow deer were imported from England to Tasmania in 1836 and then onto other areas of Australia. Generally, the deer were brought to new areas as an ornamental species and for hunting. While fallow deer are abundant in many countries, in its Turkish native range it is under serious threat.

Fallow deer have a good sense of smell, hearing and very good vision. They communicate through body language, smells, and sounds. Fallow deer have six types of vocalizations: barking, an explosive alarm call; bleating, produced by females during birth or with their young; mewing, made during submission postures; peeping, produced by fawns in distress or contacting their mothers; wailing, an intense distress sound; and groaning, produced by rutting males. Fallow deer also alert others of danger by standing in an upright stance, head held vertically and their body rigid.

Fallow deer males grow antlers in preparation for the rut season where they fight other males for breeding rights to females. Once the rut season ends they shed the antlers before growing a new set the next year. During the growing phase the antlers are highly sensitive and have a soft velvet cover. As the antlers harden for rut season blood supply stops antlers then harden and the velvet falls off in strips.

The National Zoo & Aquarium is home to 8 fallow deer.