Artiodactyla; The Order Of Even-toed Ungulates
This order of species consists of deer (such as those in the Cervidae family), goats, sheep and pigs. In the UK, we now have 6 species of deer, though only two are native, and four have been introduced over time beginning with the fallow deer (Dama dama) in the Norman era. Wild boar (Sus scrofa) also inhabit some areas of the UK, notably the Forest of Dean, after escaping from farms following a period of extinction in the country, but there are none in Cheshire. This order is thought to have arisen around 55 million years ago, and amazingly shares an evolutionary link with the cetaceans (dolphins and whales). Pigs are the most primitive species of the order that is currently surviving today.