Irish Elk or Megaloceros giganteus

This is my free coloring pages blog.

Every few days, I add another drawing or two or three.

These are drawings that I did myself, freehand.

You may print these for kids or adults to color. 

Today's new drawing is of a prehistoric, gigantic deer.

Irish Elk by a River

The Megaloceros giganteus was a prehistoric member of the deer family.  It was the largest member of the deer family ever to live on Earth.  It is also called the Irish Elk, although it is not an elk.  It is more closely related to fallow deer. Of course, fallow deer weigh around 200 lbs.  

The Irish Elk weighed more like 1540 lbs or 700 kg.  Megaloceros was up to almost 12 feet high - if you count the height of the antlers.  That is around 3.70 meters tall.  

This was a VERY successful species because it lived between 400,000 years ago and 7,500 years ago.  It is thought that climate change and human hunting probably drove it to extinction. 

NOTE:  This drawing can be found to print by clicking on the button labeled "Paleontology."  Then look for it at the bottom of the "Cenozoic Era" section of the list.  Have fun coloring!