Guys: way back in 1953 one of my uncles hunted Germany while he was there in the Air Force.

He brought a shoulder mount of an elk looking head he called: Hersh.

I know what the Reds look like, this is more like our elk, about the size of a 5pt bull. I don't recall how many points it has, I'd beet either 5 or 6 to the side. There's not any top cluster that's for sure.

Are Hersh and Reds the same species?

Thank you,
George

Red deer is named "Hirsch" in German (pronounced like "Hirsh").
Reds and Elk are related and they can interbreed. In the 1800's it was common to import wild exotic animals for fenced areas.
Someone had the unfortunate idea of "improving" red deer in parks breeding them with elk.
The red deer trophy has all points forwards, while the elk has the top pointing toward the rear.

In Sweden we have both the original clean blood european red deer in southern Skåne and planted red deer of other genes in the middle and north.

Thank you, just the info I was asking for.

George