Roe Deer – Capreolus capreolus
The Roe Deer is very small which is why many people seeing full grown adults mistake them for younger generations of the species. Full grown they range in size from about 30 pounds to 75. The males in a given area tend to be about 20 pounds heavy than the females found there.
The body is a reddish brown color and it is often noted to have a golden glow around it when the sun is shining. The facial area is a light shade of gray. They also feature a patch of white on the buttocks region. The antlers of the males can have either three or four points on them by the time they are fully mature.
Roe Deer Distribution
Many Roe Deer have been spotted in both China and Siberia.
They tend to stick to the wooded areas where they can find both food and shelter. They are the most active at twilight so if you want to observe them that is when you should be in position. However, they are known to end up on the grasslands when they need to widen their search for food.
Roe Deer Behavior
The Roe Deer will immediately start to grow new antlers the second that the old ones fall off. They are known to make sounds similar to those of dogs when they feel they are in danger. Those sounds give warning to others and they will quickly run to find shelter. They tend to live alone though with the exception of when they are feeding in similar areas or looking for a mate.
Roe Deer Feeding
The Roe Deer consumes a variety of different food with grass being one of their favorites. They also consume leaves and shoots from the trees. During certain seasons they look forward to eating the fruit that grows on certain trees around their environment.
What is interesting about their love for grass is that they are very particular about it. They won’t consume grass that other types of animals including cows, sheep, and others have been on. They find it to be unclean and they will walk away from it even if they are struggling to find enough food at that point in time. When they do consume grass they prefer it to be clean and to have high amounts of moisture in it.
Roe Deer Reproduction
When the males are looking for mates they will bark like dogs. They have also been known to whine like coyotes. If you aren’t familiar with the sounds from the Roe Deer you may assume there are some other types of animals in that location than there really is.
The males will battle each other with their horns in an effort to be able to win the attentions of the females. When they do find a female they will often make circles around here that can severely damage the ground under them. These areas are typically referred to as Roe Rings.
The females are able to delay the connection for the embryo and the uterus which allows her to give birth at the time of year that is going to offer them the best chance of successfully surviving. There are almost always two fawns born each time. The average life span in the wild for a Roe Deer is 15 years. The age of maturity is about 1 ½ years.
Roe Deer and Human interaction
Humans need to be very careful around the Roe Deer areas when there are young. The mothers will come back to them to feed them, but if they pick up the scent of humans or other animals they will abandon their offspring. Then these young fawns will surely die without the milk of their mother to nourish them.
(Photo taken by Jojo)
