The European Roe Deer
Capreolus capreolus

The body is a red to brown colour and its muzzle is grey. It is very fast and lives on high plains and mountains. It is a deer species of small dimension and its hide is golden red in the summer. Its throat, undersides and rump patch are white.
It does not have a tail although the females have tufts of fur.
The males have short erect antlers with three points. These are shed every year from October to December and grow again at the end of the winter.
Most of the year the males lead a solitary life (also due to the fact that at the end of winter territorial fights break out between them) and females often live in herds usually made up of 3-7 deer (but the herds can be bigger) led by the dominant female.
The hierarchy and social relationships in these herds are well-defined and structured.
From late spring to the beginning of summer (May-June) females give birth to 1 or 2 brown spotted fawns.
The mating season starts in the middle of July and lasts until the end of August. During courtship the males chase the females.
The gestation period usually lasts for 9 and a half months. In fact, once fertilised, the egg implants itself into the female’s womb, but remains dormant until December when it starts developing again.
This is known as embryonic diapause or delayed implantation.
With the arrival of the autumn the males join the herd of females and often take up a place at the bottom of the hierarchy. The Roe Deer can live up to 12-18 years of age.