Species Guide: Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus)
Family: Cervidae
APPEARANCE
Roe Deer have reddish-brown fur in summer, gradually fading to a more neutral brown in the winter. Additionally, they have black noses, white chins, and white rump markings. They are the smallest native deer in the British Isles, approximately the same size as a goat. Adult males, called bucks, have antlers with up to three points, which shed and grow each year. When the antlers first grow, they are covered in velvety skin. When the antlers first grow, they are covered in a soft velvety looking skin. This supplies the antlers with nutrients and oxygen whilst the bone grows and hardens, and is then rubbed off by the deer. Female Roe Deer, called does, lack antlers.
Did You Know? Roe Deer are not the fastest deer, but they aren’t slow coaches either. Their top speed is 60 kph (37.28 mph).1
Diet
Roe Deer are herbivores. Their teeth and digestive systems are adapted to cut, grind, and digest a range of vegetation including grass, leaves, brambles, and tree shoots. Since Roe Deer have no natural predators in the British Isles, numbers have soared, and overgrazing has become a major problem. Including in rural locations where they will often kill herbaceous plants, as well as killing trees by stripping their bark.2
HABITAT
Roe Deer occur in the highest densities in Scotland and Southern England but are present across the mainland. They are absent from Ireland. They prefer woodland habitats but will frequently feed in pastoral environments and rural areas.3
Note that this map is for a rough illustration of animal distribution across the UK.4 Darker green indicates the densest populations.
Behavior
The mating season starts at the peak of summer in July and August. During this period the bucks enter the rut, and will fight each other for access to does. The alpha bucks will follow their selected doe until they are ready to mate. Females give birth the following year in spring. The fawns have a spotted coat and remain hidden by the doe in dense foliage. The doe returns periodically to feed them for about 3 months, after which, the youngsters gradually wander off to find their territories.5
Did You Know? In 1928, the author Felix Salton wrote a book called “Bambi” which was based on the life of a Roe Deer. The book was later immortalized by Disney in a film of the same name.
Biometrics
NATURAL PREDATORS
Pine Martins and Foxes will target fawns on an opportunistic basis. Adult Roe Deer have no natural predators in the British Isles.
Conservation Status
As alluded, the population of Roe Deer is abundant to the point that they have a negative impact on the environment through over-grazing; which prevents the re-generation of natural woodland. In turn, this has a negative effect on biodiversity. Culling populations helps to prevent this to a point, but in many countries in mainland Europe, deer populations are kept in check through the re-introduction of the Eurasian Lynx.
Global
Conservation Status
CITATIONS
- Theodore Garland, JR (1987) The relation between maximal running speed and body mass in terrestrial mammals. J. Zool., Lond. (1983) 199, 157-1 70 [Accessed 05/03/25] ↩︎
- Feldhamer, G.A. and McShea, W.J. (2012) Deer : the animal answer guide. 1st ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. [Accessed 05/03/25] ↩︎
- Feldhamer, G.A. and McShea, W.J. (2012) Deer : the animal answer guide. 1st ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. [Accessed 05/03/25] ↩︎
- Dolman, Paul & Fuller, Robert & Gill, Robin & Hooton, D. & Tabor, R.. (2010). Escalating; ecological impacts: Of deer in lowland woodland. British Wildlife. 21. 242-254. [Accessed 05/03/25] ↩︎
- Macdonald, David W.; Barrett, Priscilla (1993). Mammals of Europe. Oxford: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09160-9. [Accessed 05/03/25] ↩︎
- Macdonald, David W.; Barrett, Priscilla (1993). Mammals of Europe. Oxford: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09160-9. [Accessed 05/03/25] ↩︎
- Theodore Garland, JR (1987) The relation between maximal running speed and body mass in terrestrial mammals. J. Zool., Lond. (1983) 199, 157-1 70 [Accessed 05/03/25] ↩︎
- Macdonald, David W.; Barrett, Priscilla (1993). Mammals of Europe. Oxford: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09160-9. [Accessed 05/03/25] ↩︎
- Feldhamer, G.A. and McShea, W.J. (2012) Deer : the animal answer guide. 1st ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. [Accessed 05/03/25] ↩︎
