Granddad’s Camera
Roe deer, as it appears in the game

No.025 · Mammals · Uncommon

Roe deer

Capreolus capreolus

A small, neat native deer with a white rump and no visible tail. Quick to bark and bound away, it is best met at dawn along a woodland edge.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn and dusk.

Time of day

Best time
Dawn and dusk. Kids are born mid-May–mid-June; the rut is a short, unusual mid-July to August one.
Where in the game
the New Forest (ancient woodland and heath) and the Cairngorms (pine forest)
Size
60–75 cm at the shoulder
Weight
10–25 kg
Lifespan
Up to 16 years, but typically around 7 in the wild (Mammal Society)
Population
About 265,000 in Great Britain (95% confidence interval 215,000–296,000; Mammal Society, 2018 review)
Status
Least Concern (Britain, Mammal Society Red List for Britain)

Diet

Selective browser: bramble, ivy, buds, shoots, herbs, heather and acorns.

Habitat

Woodland, forestry plantations, farmland copses and scrub; in the Cairngorms, the birch and pine woods of the lower glens; in the New Forest, wooded edges and inclosures.

Breeding

Rut from mid-July to August. Thanks to delayed implantation, the kids are born mid-May to mid-June, usually twins.

Field signs

  • Small, heart-shaped slots about 4–5 cm long
  • Frayed bark and stems on saplings where bucks scrape velvet or mark territory
  • Tracks worn in circles or figure-of-eight ('roe rings') around a tree or bush during the rut
  • Sharp 'bark' alarm call, like a dog's cough

Did you know?

  • Roe deer are one of Britain's two native deer (with red deer). They have recovered strongly since Victorian reintroductions and are now widespread (British Deer Society).
  • Roe bucks cast their antlers in autumn (from about October) and grow a new pair over the winter, while red and fallow stags cast in spring.
  • During the rut a buck chases a doe round and round the same bush or rock, wearing a 'roe ring' into the ground that can still be seen months later.

Moments worth waiting for

  • Roe rut July to August, dawn and dusk
    A buck chases a doe in tight circles through the bracken, barking hoarsely, leaving a pounded ring behind them.
  • Kids in the bracken May to June, dawn and dusk
    A doe steps out of the trees, ears swivelling, one spotted kid tucked in the grass behind her.

Photo tip

Look along woodland edges in the first hour of light and stay in the shadow of trees. Roe often freeze at first, so keep still and let them settle before lifting the camera. A bean bag on a car window or a low crouch helps.

Be a good naturalist

Roe deer kids lie hidden and still for days while the mother feeds. If you find one, leave it alone and back away; it is not abandoned. Do not chase deer or let dogs run loose in woodland in May–June.

The law

Deer Act 1991 (England and Wales): close season for bucks 1 November–31 March and for does 1 April–31 October, and poaching is an offence. In Scotland the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996 sets its own close seasons.

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