Deer (Books)

Deer are mentioned in several books of the How to Train Your Dragon Book Series.

Description
Deer are 'even-toed ungulates', meaning they have and even number of toes (two) on each foot that are hooved. Deer occur in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, however, there is only a small area in Africa where they occur and none in Australia or Antarctica. Deer species found in Scandinavia include: Moose - also known as Eurasian Elk (Alces alces), Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), Red deer (Cervus elaphus), Fallow deer (Dama dama), and Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus).

Function
The primary use of deer in real life and in the Book Series is as a food source for Vikings and Dragons. Other parts of the animal can be used as well, such as the hide for making leather.

Reindeer have been domesticated by the native Sami people of Scandinavia, who rely on herding reindeer for survival. The reindeer are used for transportation, food, milk, and crafting various useful items.

How to Train Your Dragon
Hiccup dwells on the dangerousness of dragons as he prepares to enter the Dragon Nursery to steal a sleeping young dragon.

"Hiccup had once seen a deer that had wandered too close to Wild Dragon Cliff torn to pieces in a matter of minutes ..."

- How to Train Your Dragon