Roe deer fawn

Roe deer are small with a reddish brown coat in summer and grey in winter. They have a distinctive black moustache stripe and a white chin. Male Roe deer have short antlers that have no more than three points.

Height: Average height at shoulder 60-75cm. Males are slightly larger than females.

Weight: Adults 10-25kg

THE BEST PLACES TO SEE ROE DEER
Type 'Roe deer' into the search function on this website and you may find a location near you.

Roe deer are widespread throughout Scotland and much of England and in many areas they are quite common. They are increasing their range but are not well established in most of the Midlands and Kent. However they are spreading through many parts of Wales.

They are generally found in open mixed, coniferous or purely deciduous woodland. Like many animals roe deer are often found at the transition between woodland and open habitats. They can be found either solitary or in small groups, with larger groups typically feeding together during the winter.

Roe deer feed throughout the 24 hours, but are most active at dusk and dawn.

WHAT DO ROE DEER EAT?
Their diet is varied and includes buds and leaves of deciduous trees and shrubs, bramble, rose, ivy, herbs, conifers, ferns, heather and grasses.

BREEDING
The breeding season, known as the rut, is from mid-July to the end of August. During this time males become very aggressive in defending their territories. Behaviour includes barking, chasing, often in circles, fraying (rubbing antlers up and down tree bark) and scent marking young trees. They fight other males by locking antlers and pushing and twisting. Fighting may cause injuries and occasionally one or both may die.

Although the egg is fertilised at the time of mating it does not begin to develop inside the female's uterus until several months later, in early January. The roe deer is the only hoofed animal in which this delayed implantation occurs. Females give birth, usually to twins, but sometimes to single kids or triplets, between mid-May and mid-June. Fawns are regularly left alone, lying still amongst vegetation. Their coat, dappled for about the first six weeks, helps to camouflage them. If there are twins they are left separately. By 6-8 weeks kids usually accompany their mother. They will begin to feed on vegetation at 3-4 weeks and are weaned at 3-4 months but will continue to take milk from the mother into the winter. Males and females reach sexual maturity and will mate at 14 months, although precocious breeding of females is not unknown.

AGE
The maximum age recorded for wild roe deer is 16 years, but most die before 7 years.

PREDATORS
There is some predation of fawns by foxes and in Scotland also by golden eagles. Many are injured or killed in traffic accidents.

CONSERVATION
They are controlled by man: many thousands are culled annually. They became extinct in most of England during the 18th century and populations were re-established by reintroductions in the 19th century. Pre 1960 they were treated as "vermin" because of damage to forestry, agriculture and horticulture.
Since the 1970s there has been an increased interest in exploitation of roe as a game species and for meat. As a result they are now covered by various Acts of Parliament which relate to close seasons, when deer may not be hunted, firearm restrictions, conservation, welfare and poaching controls.

ROE DEER FAQ'S
Do males keep their antlers throughout the year?

No. Antlers are cast from late October to early January. A new pair begins to grow straight away. They are covered in furry "velvet" (skin which supplies blood to the growing antler bone) and are fully grown by March. Velvet is shed from April onwards.

What do I do if I find a young kid apparently abandoned?

Leave it alone and go away from the area; it is part of the normal behaviour for the mother to leave her kids concealed while she goes off to feed. She will return to them later if they are left undisturbed and no-one is nearby.