The Roe Deer was @SpeciesofUK from 2nd
to 8th June, 2014.
The roe
deer is a native UK deer species that nearly become extinct here in the
eighteenth century.[1]
They are known for their distinctive three-tined antlers.
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| Roe Deer [Flickr Creative Commons © Don Sutherland] |
Deer are
the group of mammals that make up the family Cervidae. There are over ninety species of deer spread across
Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America.[2]
Deer are
a type of 'ruminant', meaning they ferment plant food in a specialised stomach,
regurgitate it to ‘chew the cud', then swallow it again to digest.[3]
The males
of all deer species (bar the Chinese water deer) grow and shed new antlers each
year. This differentiates them from antelopes.[4]
The word
deer originates from Old English dēor which had
a broad meaning of wild animal of any kind. The modern German ‘Tier’ still
retains this sense.[5]
The
adjective pertaining to deer is 'cervine' which comes straight from the Latin
for deer 'cervus’.[6]
In most
deer species, including the roe deer, the female is a 'doe' and the male a
'buck'. A notable exception is red deer where the male is a 'hart' or a 'stag'
and female is a 'hind'.[7]
.jpg)
'Venison'
is the meat of a deer, although historically this word described any hunted
game meat. In South Africa venison is antelope meat.[8]
'Roe
deer' itself is a very old name, deriving straight from Anglo-Saxon rāhdēor.[9]
In France, the roe deer is known as 'le chevreuil’.[10]
The roe deer has a close relative – the Siberian
roe deer.
The roe
deer, Capreolus capreolus, is
sometimes called the 'European roe deer' or 'western roe deer' to distinguish
it from the related and somewhat larger ‘Siberian roe deer’ or ‘eastern roe
deer’, Capreolus pygargus.[11]
 |
| European Roe Deer [Wikimedia Commons © Mucki] |
The roe
deer and the Siberian roe deer are the only two species that together make up
the genus Capreolus.[12]
The
Siberian roe deer actually became briefly naturalised in England from escapees
in Woburn but had disappeared by 1945.[13]
The
ranges of the roe deer and Siberian roe deer meet at the Caucasus Mountains,
where roe deer occupy the southern flank and Siberian roe deer the northern.[14]
Roe deer are widespread in Europe and mainland
Britain.
The range
of the roe deer stretches from Britain in the west to the Caucasus in the east,
and from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia.[15]
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| Roe Deer Buck [Wikimedia Commons © Przykuta] |
The roe deer's primary habitat is woodland and forest, although they will occupy fields too when under high population pressure.[16]
Roe deer
are common and widespread throughout mainland Britain, with the exception only
of parts of Kent, the Midlands, and Wales.[17]
They are native here. Evidence of their presence in Britain dates to before the
Mesolithic period.[18]
-HAYE_sylvain.jpg) |
| Roe Deer [Wikimedia Commons © Sylvouille] |
However roe deer nearly became extinct in Britain by 1800. They were wiped out in England by forest clearing and hunting and survived only in woods in Scotland.[19]
Roe deer
have recovered remarkably since then. The Victorians performed several
reintroductions, habitat has recovered and hunting is more controlled.[20]
Today,
roe deer are very widespread and abundant.[21]
There are now an estimated 500,000 individuals in Britain.[22]
When
adult roe deer vary from 10-25kg in weight and 60-75cm at shoulder. Bucks are
slightly larger than does.[23]
 |
| Roe Buck and Roe Doe [Wikimedia Commons © Nickshanks] |
This makes the roe deer relatively small compared to our other deer. They are bigger than muntjac but smaller than red, fallow and sika deer.[24]
Roe deer
have black noses and white chins.[25]
In summer
the roe deer is golden/reddish brown in colour.[26]
In
winter, the roe deer darkens to grey or pale brown, occasionally even black.
The coat can be also flecked with yellow.[27]
Roe deer
have a white rump patch with a very short (2-3cm), barely visible tail. This can
help distinguish them from other deer species which have more obvious tails.[28]
The roe
deer rump patch expands to form a large disc when they are excited or alarmed.[29]
A few
years ago BBC Springwatch produced a definitive guide to deer backsides which
you can still see here.
Roe deer bucks have distinctive three-tined
antlers.
Roe deer
antlers are ‘rugose’ (rough, wrinkled and bumpy), short (less than 30cm long)
and with three ‘tines’ or points on each. Only the bucks (males) have them.[30]
The roe
deer buck's first and second sets of antlers are short and unbranched.[31]
Older roe
deer bucks develop antlers around 25cm long with three points (rarely even
four).[32]
Roe deer
begin to grow their antlers in November. Initially they are covered in
velvet-life fur which later disappears when the hair's blood-supply is lost.[33]
Some roe
deer bucks actually rub their antlers on trees to get rid of the hair more
quickly and get their antlers read for duels during the rut.[34]
After the
rut, bucks shed their antlers in October and begin to grow a new set. Roe deer
are unusual in that their antlers begin re-growing almost immediately after they
are shed.[35]
Roe deer are herbivorous browsers.
Roe deer
actively select a range of foods that include herbs, brambles, tree shoots,
heather and more.[36]
Peak
times of activity for roe deer are dawn and dusk. They can be active however at
any time of day or night.[37]
Roe deer
spend a lot of time 'lying up', which simply means lying down between feeding
to ruminate (bring up and chew their food).[38]
Roe deer
are solitary animals for most of the year, apart from winter when they can form
small groups.[39]
 |
| Roe Deer in Winter [Flickr Creative Commons © baerchen57] |
When
alarmed roe deer will quickly move away from danger with a bounding gait.[40]
Both
sexes of roe deer have a short bark, which they can repeatedly use when
alarmed.[41]
Roe deer bucks become aggressive during ‘the rut’.
The roe
buck establishes his territory quite early in the year - from the end of April
to May.[42]
The roe
deer breeding season occurs from the middle of July to the middle of August.
It's called 'the rut'.[43]
During
the rut, roe deer bucks become aggressive. They secure exclusive territories
around one or more does.[44]
Roe deer
bucks fight over these territories during the rut. The fights are violent and
can even result in serious injury or death.[45]
Roe deer
does don’t stay in exclusive territories unlike the bucks. They have
overlapping home ranges.[46]
During
the rut, roe does make a high pitch piping call. This attracts the buck who
responds with a rasping noise as they court.[47]
Roe deer
courtship involves the doe chasing away from the buck for several minutes,
until she decides she's ready to mate.[48]
Roe deer
bucks will mate with several does. Does will also sometimes mate with more than
one buck.[49]
Roe does give birth to two or three ‘kids’.[50]
Roe deer practice
'delayed implantation’. This means mating occurs in August but the fertilised
egg does not implant until January, to avoid winter births.[51]
The roe deer is the only hoofed animal in which this delayed implantation
occurs.[52]
After a
gestation period of nine months (four months before implantation and five
after), the roe doe gives birth in May or June, usually to two kids or
sometimes to three.[53]
Newly
born roe deer kids can be seen lying close among bracken, bramble or grasses, often
left temporarily by the doe.[54]
Roe deer kids
have spotted coats which helps them remain camouflaged while lying low.[55]
The roe
doe will not stray too far from its kids and will return to suckle them several
times a day.[56]
Roe kids
can suffer heavy mortality early in life - shortly after birth and during their
first winter.[57]
Roe deer populations in the UK require careful
management.
Roe deer
get into conflict with farmers and foresters because they browse the shoots of
trees and agricultural crops.[58]
However,
roe deer also bring economic benefit to country estates who use roe deer for
recreational stalking and/or venison supply.[59]
Roe deer are responsible for the greatest venison income in Europe.[60]
The reality
is that the roe deer, like all UK deer populations, requires careful management
because their natural predators, such as wolves, aren't present here anymore.[61]
Strange but true…
Despite
being present across most of Europe, roe deer have never been known to occur in
Ireland.[62]
[1] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[2] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer
[3] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruminant
[4] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer
[5] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer
[6] http://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/cervine
[7] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer
[8] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deer
[9] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/roe+deer
[11] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_deer
[12] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capreolus
[13] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_roe_deer
[14] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_deer
[15] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_deer
[16] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[17] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[18] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[19] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[20] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[21] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[22] http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/roedeer
[23] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[25] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[27] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html; http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/roedeer
[28] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_deer
[31] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_deer
[32] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_deer
[33] http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/roe-deer;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_deer
[35] http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/roe-deer; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roe_deer
[36] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[37] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[38] http://i.word.com/idictionary/ruminate;
http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[40] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[42] http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/roedeer
[43] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html; http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/roedeer
[44] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[45] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[46] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[47] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[48] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[49] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[50] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[51] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html; http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/roedeer
[52] http://www.mammal.org.uk/sites/default/files/factsheets/roe_deer_complete.pdf
[56] http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/roedeer
[57] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[58] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[59] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[60] http://www.arkive.org/roe-deer/capreolus-capreolus/
[61] http://www.bds.org.uk/roe.html
[62] http://www.mammal.org.uk/sites/default/files/factsheets/roe_deer_complete.pdf
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