Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus) lives in forest edge, farmland, mixed woodland across Europe, western Asia. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Roe Deer
- A roe deer can stretch up to 135 cm long and stand 67 cm tall at the shoulder, yet still tip the scales at just 25 kg, about the weight of a large sack of potatoes. In prime condition bucks grow antlers 20-25 cm long, shedding them each autumn only to sprout new ones. This tiny, fast-regenerating armament lets males quickly re-arm for the autumn rut.
- Roe deer are the only ungulate that pauses pregnancy for months, the embryo implants only in January, even though mating occurs in July-August. After this delayed implantation the fetus develops for 264-318 days, so fawns are born the following June after a ten-month gestation.
- Since the 1960s the European and Siberian roe deer have intermingled, creating a hybrid zone that stretches from the right side of the Volga River to eastern Poland. About 22 % of deer around Moscow carry European mtDNA while 78 % carry Siberian, and hybrids grow so large that some births require Caesarean sections because the fawns outsize their mothers at 4-5 months.
- When conditions are good, roe deer populations can double every year, an irruptive growth rate. Even at high densities females keep producing litters. The first weeks after birth are deadly, with up to 90 % of fawns dying from predators.
- Roe deer were among the first species re-introduced to France's Dauphiné Alps in the late-20th century, reviving a historic hunting staple. Their return helped pull back other herbivores and predators, wolves and beavers.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeEurope, western Asia
HabitatForest edge, farmland, mixed woodland
DietGrass and leaves
About the Roe Deer
In the dappled light of forest glades, the roe deer moves with a quiet elegance, its large brown eyes watchful and alert as it navigates the underbrush with a gentle, almost ethereal, tread. With each step, its slender legs seem to barely touch the earth, as if it is floating across the forest floor, leaving behind only the faintest whisper of its presence. As it bounds effortlessly through the trees, its reddish-brown coat glistens in the sunlight, a living embodiment of the wild and unassuming beauty that thrives in these woodland realms.
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Roe Deer photographed on Feravox
