Reportedly studied beloved animal (3,4)

I believe the answer is:

red deer

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'reportedly studied beloved animal' is the definition.
'red deer' can be an answer for 'animal' (type of animal). I'm not sure about the 'reportedly studied beloved' bit.

'reportedly studied beloved animal' is the wordplay.
'reportedly' shows a homophone (sound like).
'studied' becomes 'read' (I've seen this before).
'beloved animal' becomes 'deer' (I've seen this before. I am not sure about the 'beloved' bit.).
'read' sounds like 'red'.
'red'+'deer'='RED DEER'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for red deer that I've seen before include "Large grazing animal of temperate Europe and Asia" , "Large-antlered animal" , "Common European and Asian hoofed grazing animals" , "Common stag or hind" , "wild creature" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.