CROATIAN FAUNA - ROE DEER

ROE DEER Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) belongs to the order of artiodactya (cetartiodactyla – even toed ungulates), suborder of bovines, family of deer (cervidae) and the genus capreolus. Roe deer is a solid horn animal, only the male has antlers which he loses in the 10th – 11th month, whereupon in five months he gets the second set. New antlers are covered by thin skin called velvet. Roe deer belongs to hairy game, protected by closed season. The length of the body is up to 140 cm, the length of the tail up to 5 cm, the height is about 75 cm, and the weight up to 40 kg. The hair is reddish-brown in summer and in winter ranges from chestnut to grey. Their rump is covered with white hair - these patches are oval in males, and heart-shaped in females. Spread out throughout the whole Europe and in Croatia in all habitats from lowlands to highlands and in coastal areas, it can also be found on some islands like Krk. It prefers mosaic-like surfaces with interchanging groves, fields, meadows and pastures, optimally reaching from 200 to 500 (800) m above sea level. Huge wood and agricultural areas are not best habitats for the roe deer but it can be found there as well. Although timid, it is often found near settlements. It feeds exclusively on plants and is specialised in carefully selected plant parts. Roe deer mate in the second half of July and the first half of August. It is polygamous. Pregnancy lasts 288 days, because after mating the pregnancy is delayed (stoppage in the growth of embryo). In spring roe deer whelps one to two, rarely three fawns. The family is composed of the buck, doe and fawn. Grown-up bucks live lone life and in autumn the does and fawn gather in bigger herds led by the most experienced does. The biggest dangers for roe deer are wolves, lynxes, jackals and foxes, especially for the cubs. The cubs also get killed by agricultural machinery, especially mower. Important losses are generated also by traffic. In Croatian the number of roe deer is about 65.000 animals. Marijan Grubešić