Roe Deer – Capreolus capreolus

Although common and probably stable in numbers, Roe Deer (Chevreuil) are rarely seen in the summer months, but their tracks are often encountered on muddy forest trails and their cough or barking alarm call heard through the trees. Sometimes in soft ground or when the animal has been running, the hooves splay out. It is often not easy to tell Roe Deer tracks from the other common cloven hoofed wild mammal, Wild Boar, but good prints can be distinguished because of the way the quite sharply pointed tips of the Roe Deer hoof 'slots' point inwards and Wild Boar hoof 'slots' are set further apart.

Roe Deer tracks in the Fôret de Preuilly

In the winter they are quite commonly encountered, bounding across open fields, grazing or even sitting in small groups in the open. Their coats are exactly the colour of the ploughed soil, but as one or two always sit bolt upright as lookouts, rather resembling gigantic rabbits, they are fairly easy to spot. The white tail flashes of the females are also very visible as the animals graze or on bouncing rumps until they disappear into the nearest patch of woodland. They are classified as game (gibiers in French) and can be hunted from October to February by anyone with a licence to do so.

Adult males are called 'bucks' (brocards) and females 'does' (chevrettes). The young are called 'fawns' (faons). Only the bucks have antlers.

The French website Oiseaux du Vercours et de Rhône-Alpes has an excellent page on Roe Deer.

A sunflower crop protected from Roe Deer and Wild Boar by an electric fence.

A buck in friends' garden near Chaumussay, May. The photo was taken through a window, hence the flare of a reflection.

A buck in friends' garden near Chaumussay, May. The photo was taken through a window, hence the flare of a reflection.

Buck, early morning, June, Forêt de Preuilly. Photo courtesy of Kathy Walter.

Buck, early morning, June, Forêt de Preuilly. Photo courtesy of Kathy Walter.

A doe grazing in the valley of a small stream, surrounded by forest.

A buck in the grounds of the Domaine de Candé, which is managed as a nature reserve.

Another buck, also at the Domaine de Candé