deer properly any animal of the family Cervidae, although the word is sometimes used to include other animals with generally similar characteristics. The family includes caribou and reindeer, which are both large animals, as well as the moose, which is the largest living deer with a shoulder height up to 2.25 m (7' 6"). There are also numerous much smaller deer, such as the engaging muntjac or barking deer of SE Asia, which stands little more than 50 cm (20") at the shoulder, and a number which are smaller still, including the tiny chevrotain or mouse-deer.
