Deer Ecology

There are two deer species native to Scotland, the Roe Deer and the Red Deer, both of which have been continuously resident since prehistoric times. They are herbivores - grazers and browsers - and belong to the family Cervidae, which includes all kinds of deer. Both Deer species are characterised by their graceful appearance with slender legs and elongated bodies. The males carry antlers, bony structures like horns but which are shed and regrown each year; the females do not carry antlers. The Deer are generally brown in colour, a rich red-brown in summer with a duller grey-brown winter coat.

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

The Red Deer is the largest land mammal currently found in the wild in the UK, standing about 4 ft at the shoulder. The males are called stags, the females are hinds and the young are calves. They are a gregarious species and live in large groups most of the time. For over 10 months, the hinds and stags live apart with the young staying with the hinds until they are two or three years old. They come together for the rut in September and October, when a stag will guard a group or ‘harem’ of hinds for mating and the stags roar at each other to determine dominance.

Red Deer are extremely numerous in the Highlands, with estimates of at least 350,000 individuals in the region. They were originally a forest-dwelling species but are now principally to be found on the open moorlands. In the summer months they are mainly found high in the hills, where they go to escape the flies, but come down to the glens for the winter where there is better grazing and more shelter from bad weather.

The stags grow new antlers through spring and summer beneath a layer of skin (the ‘velvet’) which provides the blood supply for the new antlers. Once they are fully grown, the velvet is rubbed off, usually in August, in preparation for the rut in September and October. Calves are usually born in May or June and are generally singletons. They are spotted at birth and can walk very young, although they are generally persuaded to lie still whilst the hinds feed.

Roe Deer (Capreolus capreolus)

Roe Deer are called bucks for males, does for females, and the young are fawns. In contrast to the gregarious Red Deer, Roe Deer are quite solitary and tend to be seen singly or in very small groups. They are much smaller, standing about 2 ft high at the shoulders, and remain a much more woodland-based species than the Red Deer. Their main distinguishing features, apart from their size, are the rich chestnut coloured coat in summer and the round white rump patch. Both the bucks and does are highly territorial although male and female ranges can completely overlap.

Roe bucks also grow antlers, but in contrast to Red Deer stags they are much shorter, usually knobbly, and rarely have more than three points. The antlers grow throughout the winter, with the velvet being shed in spring and the antlers themselves are cast in late autumn or winter. Fawns are usually born in May to June, usually as twins, and have a fine spotted coat. When the doe retires to have her fawns, she often drives off the previous season’s yearlings. After about 10 days she will return to the bucks and the rutting season occurs in July to August. Roe Deer have delayed implantation of the foetus so the fertilised egg does not start to develop fully until December, giving a gestation of about 5 months.

Want to learn more about deer - why not join our Monarchs of the Glen programme in the autumn of 2008?