Who is roe deer? What does this animal eat? If you are interested in learning the answer to these and other similar questions, then this article is for you.
Roe Deer Description
Roe deer, or wild goat, is a relatively small artiodactyl animal of the deer family. Its height is not more than 80 cm, the length of an adult does not exceed 130 cm, and body weight is about 30 kg. External differences between males and females are weakly expressed: the sizes of the latter are slightly smaller. In spring and autumn, males grow small vertical lyre-shaped horns that have no more than three shoots with a height of 15 to 30 cm, depending on the age of the individual. In the form of anomalies, horns can also be found in females. Roe deer color is one-color, without division by gender. In summer, red tones predominate, in winter - gray or brown. Darker hair on the back and head of a wild goat, closer to the extremities it brightens. At birth, pronounced spots of red and yellow tones are observed along the back, which disappear by 3 months of life.
Here is such a description of European roe deer. In addition, in nature there is a population of roe-melanists, characterized by a predominance of black coat color. They live in the vastness of Germany.
Over the past few decades, due to various state conservation measures, high birth rates and good adaptation to human-modified territories, there has been a tendency to increase the number of these amazing animals.
But what does a wild beast eat?
Roe deer food mainly consists of plants growing in its habitat. Mostly wild goats are found in the forest-steppe strip, where the forest is sparse, with a large number of bushes, forest edges with dense vegetation and a sufficient number of secluded places in which you can hide from predators. The size of the animal is small, so the plants that roe eat, should be located at an accessible height. Mostly the diet includes grass, tree bark, shrubs, mosses, berries, fruits, nuts. The diet of an animal largely depends on the season, which affects not only the species of growing plants, but also the social structure of roe deer behavior. By the way, what is theirs?
Winter behavior and nutrition
What does roe deer eat in winter? In such a difficult period, wild goats gather in small herds of up to 15 individuals in the forests and up to 40 heads in the fields. Winter groups include females with offspring, one-year-old individuals, less often adult males who prefer a lonely existence. Such herds roam within the same food zones from year to year on the territory of up to 500 hectares. With a high level of precipitation, above 50 cm of snow, the groups are located in one place and consume the bark of conifers: spruce, juniper and pine. Note that these weather conditions are the most difficult and dangerous for the species.
Help from a person
The small size of the animals does not allow them to move freely in search of a more suitable food, and the low content of nutrients in the bark of conifers leads to depletion of their body. For these reasons, many foresters in the winter period with a high level of rainfall feed this animal at special sites. Roe deer with pleasure consumes cabbage, turnips, carrots, other crops, as well as animal feed and grain. Foresters control the number of wild goats, since a strong increase will lead to significant damage to agricultural fields and greater food competition for individuals of the species, and too sharp a reduction in the number of heads can contribute to the extermination of predators and hunters.
In winter, the metabolism slows down in animals and the amount of food consumed decreases due to the meager diet, which includes dry grass, tree bark, thin branches of shrubs. In addition, under the snow, these animals dig up the remains of nuts growing in the area, chestnuts, as well as lichens and moss. In winter, roe deer will never abandon the remnants of corn, potatoes, beets, and also other crops that grow within the food zone in previously harvested fields. Thanks to its well-developed olfactory receptors, the wild goat quickly finds fruits, nuts and other food, even under a thick layer of snow.
Spring came…
What does roe deer eat in spring? Since March, herds of roe deer begin to break up into small family groups, most often consisting of females and calves. One-year-olds seek for themselves free territory, on which they will then feed all summer. Having chosen a suitable zone for themselves, wild goats graze on it from year to year, protect their territory from others. A lone goat lifestyle in certain areas reduces competition between species and ensures good nutrition of roe deer.
In the spring, females are less active and cautious, since most of them are pregnant. A feature of these animals is that the embryo may already be in the uterus, but begins to grow only in January. This adaptive feature of the species allows for higher survival of the offspring; an increase in the consumption of roe deer food coincides with the natural expansion of the diet. The birth of cubs occurs between April and early June.
What does roe deer eat in spring? During this period, fresh shoots of clover, alfalfa, other succulent herbs, as well as winter crops, fresh buds and shoots of shrubs are added to her diet.
Wild goat males, on the contrary, behave more actively during this period, aggressively mark their territory using sweat glands located on the head, neck and near hooves. Later, during the rutting season, they will let up to 4 females into their territory to receive offspring. The same animals can mate for several years in a row, but no special attachments were found among individuals of this species.
Summer
What does roe deer eat in summer? This warm period is associated with lactation in females. As a rule, there are 2 cubs in the litter, with the exception of either primogenous females or old females, whose forces are enough to bear only one roe. The first month, the cubs hide in tall grass and feed up to ten times a day. Females themselves eat and rest separately from them. From the second month of life, the kids begin to independently feed on different types of herbs growing near their location. Wild roe ceases to feed the young with milk after 2-3 months of life.
Summer is the most favorable period for the development of the population of this animal. The diet is so diverse that it includes more than 850 species of various plants. Very young juicy leaves and twigs are especially popular. More than half of the plants consumed by roe deer are dicotyledonous herbaceous plants, a quarter are accessible shrubs and undersized trees. The rest of the consumed plants is divided between monocotyledonous herbs, mosses, mushrooms and ferns.
And what else does the roe eat? Of the woody variety, leaves of honeysuckle, oak, hornbeam, ash, birch, bird cherry, mountain ash and linden are most readily eaten. Favorite food is herbs with a high water content, for example, callas and calamus, various cereals, plants rich in vitamins and minerals (cow parsnip, highlander, blood crust, sorrel and others). Roe deer, the photo of which you see in our article, will never refuse the available fruit and berry crops (strawberries, blueberries, rose hips, hawthorn, apple trees and others), as well as various nuts and chestnuts. As a therapeutic prophylaxis, the animal eats wormwood and other poisonous plants, for example, daphne, nightshade crops, belladonna and caustic buttercup.
If something is missing ...
In the diet of roe deer there are not so many plants that provide the necessary amount of mineral substances, to fill the deficiency of which animals have to look for salt licks or drink water from sources that are high in missing useful elements.
Autumn has come…
Roe deer in the fall seeks to gain more fat before winter cold, for this purpose the remains of crops not harvested by farmers, fruits and berries from trees and shrubs, seeds and mushrooms are eaten. The peculiarity of the eating behavior of these animals is that they do not eat the whole plant, but bite a few leaves or a twig and move on.
Thus, they cause minimal harm to the environment and allow all types of plants to grow in their chosen territory. Only in winter, wild goats dig up hooves and eat the whole plant.
Conclusion
Now you know who the roe deer is, photos of the animal for clarity are presented in the article. We also talked about what this beast eats. We hope you find the information useful.