DESCRIPTION

Brown-red coat in summer, greyish-brown in winter. Male with short antlers, little branched, falling in November-December; the repelling antlers are covered with a velvety skin (height at the withers: 60-80 cm). Female without antler.

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HABITAT

Roe deer is an animal that is both fearful and curious. It is best seen at sunrise and sunset, usually at the edge of the forest. It is not uncommon, however, to see it in the middle of the day on the edge of the highway or in the middle of a field. Roe deer is sedentary in a variable zone according to the environment and the density of the population. It does not need more than 5 to 7 ha. It defends a territory from February to September. Non-territorial males have a larger living space of about 15 ha. The female has a larger area than the male and less stable.

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WAY OF LIFE

If the deer is the largest and most majestic of our forest animals, the roe deer is the most graceful. The social unit of roe deer is formed by a female and youngs of the year (a roe deer can possibly associate with this small family in autumn). In winter, many of these family groups can associate. Males have distinct territories but may overlap more or less. It is the same for the surfaces occupied by the females. Outside of the rut, the roe deers are solitary. Roe deer needs shelter and high quality food. The dominating behavior of the males changes according to the presence or not of their antlers and decreases away from the summer territory. At the end of the winter, the young males of the previous year can occupy a position superior to that of the highest female in the hierarchy.

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FOOD

Roe deer feeds mainly on shoots and leaves of trees, brambles, raspberry, ivy, hazel, secondarily herbaceous plants. It also consumes mushrooms, acorns, beechnuts and plants grown in a proportion of 3 to 4 kg per day. Roe deer chooses its food carefully and takes the most nutritious parts. The feeding and rumination cycle is one hour in summer and two hours in winter because at this season, the proportion of brambles is higher and the morphology of its digestive tract changes.

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BREEDING

Only the male, called "brocard", carries antlers. The roe deer gets sexual maturity between 14 months and 2 years. It is the only Artiodactyle in which there is delayed implantation of the embryo (delayed ovo-implantation). Males are polygynous. The rut takes place in July-August. There is only one annual litter with twins in 75% of cases, 1 only in 20% of cases and 3 in 5% of cases. The number of pups per litter is very dependent on the environment. The female has 4 teats. The baby roe deer (so called until 6 months) is blackish brown with rows of white spots on the back and sides. He has a black "mustache" on his upper lip. The white spots fade at 6 weeks and disappear in October at the latest. Weaning takes place after 8 to 12 weeks, although the female can breastfeed until winter if conditions are good. The young are breastfed, 6 to 10 times a day for a few minutes. Older they are breastfed 2 to 3 times a day, only a few seconds. They stay with their mother until the next farrowing and are then hunted. Unlike deer, roe deer do not shed its antlers in the spring, but in late fall. These grow back in about three months covered by "velvet", thin tissue that nourishes and protects them during all growth.

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THREAT

Deer, roe deer and wild boars are animals whose names are better known than their manners. Too often, they are only considered to be species allowed to hunt or cause damage to the forest and crops. High mortality is due to hunting. Yet these species enrich the biodiversity of our forests, and contribute to natural balances. Less savage than carnivores, these herbivores are a source of pleasure for all, more and more numerous, who wish to approach a rich and diversified fauna. Roe deer is one of the species for which hunting is permitted. He is hunted by shots (rifle and bow), and hounds. A shot, depending on the chosen mode, the hunters choose the approach or lookout, or beat. By hounds, huntsmen have a pack of dogs.

In the nineteenth century, deforestation reduced cervids. At the end of the twentieth century, roe deer on farms for release, and feeding, contributed to the increase in numbers. The species is expanding.
Recreational hunting requires the maintenance of surplus populations for the environment to justify shooting. As soon as there is a risk of population decline, hunters become agitated, release, increase feeding and trapping to "protect their game", at least temporarily ... until the hunting season. Too many losses before this period would lead to the reduction of their leisure. The first reintroduced lynxes were slaughtered (1987) and all indications are that it was by hunters wanting to protect "their" roe deer.

Roe deers are also victims of road traffic and cause collisions. Accidents often take place during the hunting season: its escape makes it cross a road, or even several ... and aggravates the risks. The link between accident and hunt is hard to establish, but it happens.

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