In what region did the Sika deer that are now found on the Tibradden Mountain originate?
Tibradden Mountain Tibradden Mountain (Irish: "Sliabh Thigh Bródáin" , meaning "mountain of the house of Bródáin" ) is a mountain in County Dublin in Ireland. Other former names for the mountain include "Garrycastle" and "Kilmainham Begg" (a reference to Kilmainham Priory which once owned the lands around the mountain). It is 467 m high and is the 561st highest mountain in Ireland. It forms part of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The views from the summit encompass Dublin to the north, Two Rock to the east and the Wicklow Mountains to the south and west. The geological composition is mainly granite and the southern slopes are strewn with granite boulders. The summit area is a habitat for heather, furze, gorse and bilberry as well as Sika deer, foxes and badgers. The forestry plantation on the slopes – known as the Pine Forest – contains Scots pine, Japanese larch, European larch, Sitka spruce, oak and beech. The mountain is also a site of archaeological interest with a prehistoric burial site close to the summit.
Sitka deer The Sitka deer or Sitka black-tailed deer ("Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis"), is a subspecies of mule deer ("Odocoileus hemionus"), similar to the Columbian black-tailed subspecies ("O. h. colombianus"). Their name originates from Sitka, Alaska, and it is not to be confused with the similarly named sika deer. Weighing in on average between 48 and , Sitka deer are characteristically smaller than other subspecies of mule deer. Reddish-brown in the summer, their coats darken to a gray-brown in mid-late August. They are also good swimmers, and can occasionally be seen crossing deep channels between islands. Their average life span is about 10 years but a few are known to have attained an age of 15.